Articles by Sarah Jones

Lloyd’s to Cut 10% of UK Employees on Soft Market Pricing Pressures

Lloyd’s of London is planning to cut 10 percent of its staff in the UK as the world’s oldest insurance market looks to streamline operations and reduce costs amid continued pricing pressure on its members. Lloyd’s plans to introduce a …

Scotland’s Standard Life to Buy Aberdeen Asset Management for $4.7B

Standard Life Plc, Scotland’s largest insurer, agreed to acquire Aberdeen Asset Management Plc for about 3.8 billion pounds ($4.7 billion), creating one of Europe’s biggest fund managers. Under the terms, which remain the same since talks were first revealed on …

New Head of Allianz’ PIMCO Takes on $2 Trillion Challenge with Gusto

Walk down a side alley in Munich, beneath apartments with net curtains in the windows, past figures of female superheroes on a cafe storefront, and you come to the unprepossessing headquarters of a $2 trillion asset manager. On the fifth …

Stop Cutting Prices, Bank of England Warns Insurers

The London insurance market should not keep cutting prices to secure business because low interest rates mean investment earnings can no longer cushion poor underwriting, the Bank of England said. The key challenge for the industry, which has endured 10 …

UK Auto Insurer Esure to Spin Off Gocompare.com Unit

Esure Group Plc climbed to the highest since June 30 after the U.K. automotive insurer announced a plan to demerge its price-comparison website Gocompare.com through a separate listing on the London Stock Exchange. The decision followed a strategic review and …

Most Italians Uninsured for Earthquake as Economic Cost of Tremblor Mounts

The magnitude 6.2 earthquake that struck Italy’s Umbria region this week, killing at least 250 people, is estimated to have cost the country anywhere from $1 billion to $11 billion in economy-related losses. The insurance bill will be a lot …

UK Insurers Aviva and RSA Report Higher H1 Profits, Shrug Off Brexit Fallout

Insurers Aviva Plc and RSA Insurance Group Plc shrugged off any fallout from the Brexit referendum by reporting higher first-half profit and increasing shareholder payouts. The shares rallied in London trading. Aviva, the U.K.’s second-largest insurer, posted a 13 percent …

Aegon, Transamerica Owner, Sells $4.4B UK Annuity Portfolio to Legal & General

Aegon NV, the Dutch owner of U.S. insurer Transamerica Corp., divested the final 3 billion pounds ($4.4 billion) of annuities from its U.K. portfolio to Legal & General Group Plc. The transaction, which covers 27,000 policyholders, will release another 275 …

Aon Signs $1.3B Pension ‘De-Risking’ Deal with UK’s Pension Insurance Corp.

Pension Insurance Corp. agreed to insure 900 million pounds ($1.3 billion) of Aon Plc’s Retirement Plan in the U.K. as the world’s second-largest insurance broker seeks to reduce risk. The agreement with Aon covers the majority of the pension fund’s …

RSA Turnaround ‘Complete’ with Cost Cuts & Non-Core Disposals on Track: CEO

RSA Insurance Group Plc Chief Executive Officer Stephen Hester says the company, which was the subject of an abandoned 5.6 billion-pound ($8.1 billion) takeover offer, is now much more valuable for any future owner. The insurer reported on Thursday an …