Ida Axling reviews the news
This week we spoke to Deputy Editor at Insurance Age, Ida Axling to get her take on the past week in insurance news.
What has been the stand-out story for you in the insurance market this week - and why?
There’s a lot going on at the moment, but one big story for brokers (and insurers) this week has been Biba’s decision to move its 2021 conference online as a result of the pandemic. Some industry players have said they think Biba made this choice too soon, but looking at the way things are at the moment it seems highly unlikely that they would have been able to host a conference with thousands of attendees in Manchester next May. It’s a shame for us journos though – the Biba conference is usually a gold mine of the latest gossip around what is going on in the market! Something tells me virtual networking won’t have the same results.
Which news this week do you think will have the most long-term impact on the insurance industry/profession?
Lockdown 2.0 will no doubt have an impact on the industry, especially after the issues around business interruption claims and the FCA’s test case going up in the Supreme Court later this month. The industry’s reputation is not exactly benefitting from this situation.
Who is your insurance personality of the week and why?
Insurance is, as we all know, full of big personalities so there are loads of people to choose from. But I’d like to go with Aon’s Julie Page who recently became the new president of the CII. I interviewed Page a few years ago and she had many interesting things to say about her career so far and deals she’d been involved in making. She also told me that part of the reason she had succeeded in such a male dominated industry is because she didn’t see any barriers. Her story is certainly inspirational.
What has been the most interesting/intriguing/surprising item you have seen in the background of any video-based calls so far this year and why?
My favourite so far is the dog that started barking in the background while I was doing an interview with Manchester Underwriting Management’s Charles Manchester. I asked if I could see the dog and I was not disappointed. Such a little cutie!
And finally: If you could interview anyone from the world of insurance and they had to answer your question 100% truthfully, who would it be and what would you ask them?
I’d like to ask Ardonagh’s David Ross about how he really feels about having to sell motorcycle broker Bennetts months after buying it after the deal was investigated by the Competition and Markets Authority.
Separately, there’s a number of court cases involving accusations of staff poaching going on at the moment and after reading the court documents there are a few people I’d really like to ask some challenging questions…