The event was organized at the Grosvenor House Hotel in the capital, hosted by comedian Patrick Kielty and graced by corporate attendees in multiples of 100. This year’s occasion was marked by an emphasis on the long-term care.

• The best private medical insurance group award, also the chief award of the night, was picked up by Aviva UK Health.
• Aviva UK Health also won the equivalent group award.
• The private medical insurance award by National Friendly  PruHealth.
• The individual critical illness award  PruProtect for a second year running.
• The Intermediary of the year award  ElderCare Solutions.
• The Best protection intermediary award  CBK Colchester.
• The Best international PMI provider award  IMG Europe (thus breaking Bupa’s 9 year record)
• The Best Healthcare Trust Intermediary  Health Lambert Consulting
• The Best use of Dental benefits by an Intermediary  Alexander Forbes Healthcare

The night stood as a tribute to the industry’s resistance to a turbulent year marked by uncertainties and doubts.

Towers Watson, a professional service firm has recently conducted a study on the UK personal motor market. On the basis of this report, they have inferred that the UK motor market will not make any profit till at least 2015. The reasons behind this unprofitability are a thirty percent hike in the cost of fraudulent claims, low investment income of the insurers and claims inflation. Along with this, the concern has also found that there is an excessive dependency on pricing in the ever- increasing cut-throat market.

The list of modifications proposed by BIBA in the eight point plan includes:

• The UK government must bring in Continuous Insurance Enforcement (CIE).
• Guide people, especially young and irregular drivers, to a suitable broker where they can avail competitive cover.
• Adjust comparison sites to the acceptable standard.
• Reassess Pass Plus.
• Lord Justice Jackson’s report on the civil litigation costs needs to be taken into account.
• Postpone the increase to insurance premium tax.
• Make driving license records easy to obtain.

Graeme Trudgill, BIBA’s head of corporate affairs, has stated that, “We think the key priorities for the Government should be to introduce Continuous Insurance Enforcement, implement changes to reduce the cost of bodily injury claims and importantly signpost customers to a source of help.”

The plan was given in writing to the Government’s Transport Select Committee by BIBA.

AXA Insurance is a French- based provider of home cover in Great Britain. It is one of the biggest providers of insurance in the UK. The outfit has been keeping an eye on the data for the past couple of years. Their research statistics has shown that the week of Halloween and Bonfire Night are customarily the time when people are bound to get harmed and accounts for the highest number of claims received accounts.

In light of the findings, Amanda Edwards of AXA Home Insurance has commented that, “Any sort of damage caused to another person’s property is a criminal offence and while insurance can pick up the cost, it can’t deal with the emotional trauma.  If property is damaged, customers’ should check their policy wordings.  AXA home insurance has a home assistance package where tradesmen can visit the property within hours to make it secure”

In addition, she gave UK home owners this piece of recommendation: “Keep your eyes and ears open for potential trouble and if trick or treaters come calling a friendly approach always helps.  If you do see people behaving badly, call the police.”

Their data has also shown that over the past two years, the median rate of damage to property is around £700 during the last week of October.

Malicious damage claims are defined as those in which the damage done was the result of a planned attack rather than through accident or negligence. The most common ones are damage to fences, letterboxes, egging of windows etc.

This expansion into the international market by Qatarlyst has seen the numbers of member served rise to over 330. This elevates Qatarlyst membership by over 600% and doubles its headcount to over 45.

Commenting on the strategic acquisition, James Sutherland, CEO of Qatarlyst, stated that, “This acquisition is a good strategic fit both technologically and geographically for Qatarlyst giving us access to the key London and international markets. Our ambition is to become the single e-platform that supports existing distribution channels and markets with the next generation support tool for placement, claims and accounting workflows between counterparties.”

This capture of the UK market will give a big boost to the QFC’s aspiration of being the preeminent center for reinsurance in the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) region. The deal renders Qatarlyst significant connections to similar global markets such as Zurich and Bermuda, along with the London Market Exchange. It also bolsters Qatarlyst’s endeavor to conquer other local markets such as South East Asia.

RI3K (Reinsurance and Insurance for the 3rd Millennium) supplies an international ‘Platform as a Service’ which replaces the paper-based procedures that support the transactions of all types and classes of large commercial insurance and facultative and treaty reinsurance. This helps global based buyers, brokers and carriers to cut deals in a faster, cheaper and more effective manner. The outfit has an estimated $ 8 billion–plus premium traded since the beginning of trading.

This negligence is in spite of the onset of the winter period in the UK. Because of the harsh climate, traditionally home insurance claims often peak during this time of the year. However this is not proving to be the case this year, with two-fifths of people saying that they do not have the financial means to take on home insurance payments. In addition, those who have policies in hand are underinsured by an average of £4,650.

While a majority (68%) are shunning home insurance due to lack of finances, 22% of people simply do not see home insurance as a necessity. The study also revealed that 18% believe that they don’t possess anything that is worth insuring. On the other hand, 16% of people claim that they still have to get round to taking out insurance and around 15% are not interested in insurance since it is not a legal requirement.

According to Lee Mooney, Head of Home Insurance at The Co-operative Insurance, “At the moment everyone is, understandably, looking to save money. However, a worryingly high percentage of population does not have home insurances and are leaving themselves open to much greater risks and expenditure in the long run.”

The study is one of initiatives of Co-operative Insurance and housing and homelessness charity Shelter, who have formed a partnership to combat the issue. The duo is attempting to raise money to help out families in the UK to maintain a decent house over their head. As part of this program, £5 goes to Shelter for every Home Insurance policy that is bought.

Campbell Robb, Chief Executive of Shelter, stated that, “Through this partnership we hope that not only will people have the peace of mind that their own home is safe and secure, they can also make a huge difference to thousands of people in real housing need.”

Why is it essential for car drivers to seek out the best possible price for insurance payouts? Well, the bigger the insurance payout is, the more you end up paying on your premium. This is because compensation payments are relatively high, accounting for 50 % of the total costs of claims in Northern Ireland.

The survey also disclosed that payments to the claimants’ solicitors and barristers added up to £1million each year. In the view of the Association of British Insurers, the excessively high legal cost in Northren Ireland is due the fact that road accidents are excluded from claims court.

Greater London has the second highest median car insurance rate in the UK, followed by the North West and the West Midlands. The top cities to insure a car across the UK is Newry, Londonderry, Armagh, London, Belfast, Illford, Liverpool and Lisburn.

Reasons attributed for 5 Northern Ireland cities claiming places in the “Top Ten” are consumer inertia, higher premium costs and a lack of competition in the market. The report also advised NI motorists to do more homework on their car insurance and look around for the best deal prior to purchase. This will enable Northern Ireland car drivers to save as much £260. It will help in lowering the prices and bring insurance costs in Northern Ireland on par with those in the rest of Britain.

The report was published by the Consumer Council. Based on the briefing given earlier by the research bureau, the Committee for Finance and Personnel consented to commission additional research on the cost of insurance in the UK.

The Managing Director of Frogmore Property Company, Paul White spoke of the impending boom saying that along with property rates, tracker mortgage transaction rates could also soar high in London’s near future wherein the market scene is anticipated to be quite strong.

He also spoke of the weight of inclination towards London homes being generated by both UK-based and global investors while highlighting that the current trend of home hunting in the capital is likely to continue despite the threats of the ongoing recession. Mr. White described the property market scene in London as a ‘winner going forward’.

This retrospection was a result of Knight Frank’s recent revelation concerning increase of 15% in rentals for luxury homes in London since June 2009.

The new product now includes eight new conditions, of which 7 are available only for those residing in the UK. In addition, existing policy holders will reap the fruits of the new product, minus additions to their existing premium.

PruProtect goes the extra mile by providing cover for 161 conditions whereas most critical illness assurance providers only cover 40 conditions. The updated list of conditions now includes lumpectomy for ductal carcinoma in situ of the breast; carcinoma in situ of the oesophagus, where surgery is required; and severe inflammatory Crohn’s disease. PruProtect has also stated that where full cancer exclusion applies; the premium will be lowered, in order to reflect the restriction of cover that applies on existing policies. This option is also furnished by Legal & General, Zurich, Bupa and Fortis.

Remarking on the new product, Deepak Jobanputra, actuarial and product director said that, “We are covering conditions that impact people lives at all ages. While it is great that more providers are beginning to cover mastectomy, less than a third of DCIS diagnoses are treated this way, which is why we are adding lumpectomy.”

Financial gurus are highly impressed with the new and improved product from PruProtect. For instance, Matt Morris, senior policy adviser for London-based LifeSearch, has stated that, “The new improvements from PruProtect have made a strong product even stronger. Cancer is a major reason for claims, so premium reductions will mean customers that have this condition excluded from their policy will be compensated with a better premium. It is the right thing to do and PruProtect should be commended.”

The changes came into effect on 23rd October 2010.

A substantial proportion of the British insurers have reached the conclusion that profits significantly subdue customers and hence they’re indulging in removal of inexpensive insurance deals from the market.

Consequently, there has been an explosion in insurance tariff in the past one year. The cheap car insurance pacts of the current market scenario reveal a 39.3% hike at £792 in comparison to the previous year. This has been the highest jump traced in cover premiums since the early 1990’s.

The reason observed behind this extensive escalation is an increase in accident and injury claims along with amplified advertising charges and fraud happenings. According to Simon Douglas from the AA kinfolk, the average claim in premiums now stands at £123 for every £100 drawn on.

This research is further verified by data earlier revealed by a consultancy specializing in non-life insurance, EMB and a comparison front called Confused in the web space. On an average obverse, car insurances have leaped by a margin of 37%.

As buyers we can only try and compare the insurance rates in the offing and accordingly choose our deals.

These numbers are a revelation of a survey conducted by the Association of British Travel Agents Consumer Trends survey and unleashed at the Travel Convention held in Malta earlier this week.

A look into the notions of the British masses relays a misunderstanding harbored by 16% of the British folklore that the Government reimburses their medical outflow if any and an alarming 55% do not bother investing in travel insurance at all prior to commencing an excursion within UK itself.

Lynda St. Cooke at the Foreign and Common Wealth Office issued a statement saying, “Getting comprehensive travel insurance means that while an accident may disrupt your holiday, it certainly won’t bankrupt you.”