News round-up: July/August 2010

A brief round up of news from the secto.

Acquisitions
Bluefin has bought St Albans based Gilbert Business Insurance Brokers. The commercial
broker has £2.5m gross written premium and joined the Bluefin Broker Partner Services network in 2008.

Bridle Insurance has also expanded by moving into Wales with the purchase of Swansea based broker Associated Householders Services, better known as AHS Insurance.

Meanwhile, commercial broker Knowlden Titlow remains independent after its acquisition
by new managing director Robin Plaster. Cullum Capital Ventures has also been busy,
buying Hertfordshire-based brokers Humbergrove and Humbergrove UK, which it followed
with its fifth acquisition of the year, Newcastle-based £12m GWP broker Bishop Skinner.

Also, High Wycombe based MRIB bought local rival JN Dobbin, adding £4m of GWP to its £25m book.

Results
London-based specialist broker THB Group has announced 21% growth in broking profits for the six months to 30 April and group profit before tax of £1m.

Jelf saw its revenues for the first six months of the year to 31 March 2010 decline to £34.9m from £35m in the first half of 2009, with the insurance business falling 3%. Operating profits increased to £4.1m and pre-tax losses reduced from £994,000 to £616,000, including a one-off cost of £1.4m to be released from an interest-hedging
instrument. Gross debt was reduced from £30.7m to £13.6m. Meanwhile, after six years as a non-executive director and three years as chairman, David Walker is stepping down.

NIG made a pre-tax loss of £87.7m in its year-end results for 31 December 2009. The figure, which compares to £52m profit in 2008, means NIG was the only one of RBSI's major four brands to report a loss.

Changes
At the start of June, Aviva raided Axa for the services of Anthony Middle. The high-profile appointee will take up the role of strategic partnership director once he completes six months of gardening leave. The insurer is also to become the title sponsor of Premiership rugby in England, taking over from Guinness. Aviva's deal
runs from September 2010 until May 2014, which means that it overlaps with QBE, the
official insurance partner of the Guinness Premiership until July 2012.

Bob Pybus, director and founder of broker NPA Insurance, has joined the board of the Institute of Insurance Brokers.

Meanwhile, Lord Sharman, chairman at Aviva, joined Vince Cable's business advisory group.

Also, international broker network BrokersLink has appointed Leonard Battifarano as its CEO.

Brit Insurance has rejected two bids of £10 and £10.50 a share respectively from US
based private equity firm Apollo Global Management. After the first bid, shares in Brit jumped 20% in the first two-and-half hours of trading and the Financial Services Authority has launched an investigation following leaks before the stock exchange was informed.

Insurance is the most stressful profession, according to a survey by Medicash: 27% of
people working in insurance feel stressed every day and 18% had called in sick due to stress. It also discovered that 38% of respondents working in insurance had cried due to stress and 22% admitted it had caused them to drink too much.

British Insurance Awards
At the Royal Albert Hall on 7 July, Allianz scooped the award for general insurer of the year at the BIA. Other winners included Rias for personal lines broker of the year,
Avantia won the broking initiative category for Homeprotect and Heath Lambert took the commercial lines broker prize. Click here for a full list of winners.