Tom Luckham Reviews the News

What has been the stand-out story for you in the insurance market this week and why?  

Ageas’ second bid for Direct Line and Direct Line’s subsequent rejection and dip in shares is definitely one to keep an eye on. With Winslow only just taking on his seat as CEO, it’s a very interesting development.

Who is your insurance personality of the week and why?

She is no longer an insurance professional, but I would say Alice Hendy, formerly of QBE, now the founder and CEO of R;pple Suicide Prevention and creator of the R;pple tool. She’s tirelessly working to raise awareness of suicide and mental health in not just insurance but any industry that will listen, she’s doing incredible work. My Big Interview with her went live on Insurance Post this week, too.  

Which news this week do you think will have the most long-term impact on the insurance profession?

I’d say the FCA announcing that it plans to make its enforcements quicker and more transparent would be it for me. A huge announcement that will have last effects on not only insurance, but financial services as a whole.

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 love to chat with Elon Musk about Tesla Insurance, among other things…

If you could wave a magic wand and change one thing about our industry, what would it be?

It would have to be more diversity in executive positions. Not just gender, sexuality or race, which are of course incredibly important, but also socio-economic diversity. We’re a diverse country, that should be represented in our industries.

Finally, would you survive a zombie apocalypse?

No chance at all. I’m under no illusions about that. I’m afraid the best I could hope for is to die in a pose that would confuse future archaeologists.