JMG Group has acquired SafeSchool, which is a health and safety consultancy with a focus on the education sector. Under the deal, SafeSchool becomes part of Risk Support Services, which is the risk management and consultancy division of Butterworth Spengler, a JMG Group company.

Mutual marine insurer UK P&I Club has joined SEA-LNG, which is a coalition that supports the shipping industry’s methane decarbonisation pathway and promotes the use of LNG, biomethane and e-methane as marine fuels.

EY has forecast that the UK motor market will return a net combined ratio of 101% in 2025, rising to 111% in 2026. This follows the 97% it achieved in 2024, the first time the market had been profitable since 2021. EY said the deteriorating outlook was due to downward pressure on premiums and ongoing inflation.

Send Technology Solutions has signed a partnership deal with Vega IT, which will see Vega IT use its system integration expertise to support Send in deploying its underwriting platform to a wider range of re/insurers. Send’s platform is designed to integrate with other systems such as policy administration, CRM and data warehousing. Vega IT will help ensure it does this as efficiently as possible.

Insurance provider Hastings Direct and law firm HF have secured a judgement at Uxbridge County Court against Nagarasa Ramanan, who is the director of dissolved company NKR Motors Claims Ltd, for making fraudulent credit hire claims. The court awarded damages and costs of £82,243.96 to Hastings Direct.

Managing general agent Pen Underwriting has agreed an expanded multi-year capacity deal with Zurich that will support its fleet proposition. The deal extends the longstanding relationship to provide capacity for the hazardous goods, tankers and environmental industries and from the start of the year will also include Pen’s broader fleet risks portfolio, including passenger transport risks.

Westfield Specialty International is going to launch a Luxembourg subsidiary to enable it to underwrite risks on company paper and expand its current capacity provision which is delivered through Lloyd’s syndicate 1200. It expects the Luxembourg subsidiary to begin writing business from April next year.

The Financial Conduct Authority has issued additional guidance to assist firms to combat bullying, harassment and violence in financial services. The regulator said its guidance covered how firms could apply rules on minimum standards of behaviour as well as the factors they should consider when assessing whether someone is fit and proper for their role.

The British Insurance Brokers’ Association has announced that the theme for its 2026 conference will be Time:To. The professional body said the aim was to encourage firms to put a focus on their present situation and to take decisions that drove meaningful change.

Reinsurtech platform Supercede has said inefficiencies associated with contract data are costing the market an estimated 3% of gross written premiums, which it said equated to approximately £2.25bn. It said more than two-thirds (68%) of market participants regularly rekeyed contract data post-placement and that more than half took more than a month to reconcile, post-placement.

The International Underwriting Association has created a council for chief underwriting officers in the London company market, which met for the first time this week. It will meet twice a year and its purpose is to help ensure the IUA’s work remains focused on supporting the underwriting operations of its members.

The Chartered Insurance Institute has launched a 12-month pilot programme with Birmingham City University in a bid to boost the insurance market’s talent pipeline. The initiative will see a variety of insurance experts engage with BCU’s business school and provide information and guidance on potential career opportunities and pathways.

Managing general agent Dual Group has entered into a global partnership with cyber risk analytic specialist CyberCube to improve its cyber underwriting capabilities. The partnership will provide Dual’s underwriters with access to modelling tools and APIs that will better inform their understanding of risks and potential exposures.

Allianz UK has upgraded its SME eTrade fleet market product and relaunched its no claims discount service on Acturis. It has also increased its appetite for younger drivers and reduced the size of a mini fleet from three to two vehicles. The carrier said it had increased its tolerance for electric vehicles as part of the changes.

Zurich has empowered its regional and commercial teams in nine regional hubs to offer multinational cover in seven European Economic Area countries for UK clients buying a mid-market commercial combined all risks policy. The extension will support UK businesses with operations in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands and Spain.

Open GI says two-fifths of brokers believe that in-person and telephone distribution will be more important in the years ahead, although 60% point to digital distribution as the main channel of growth for the market. The findings were published in a white paper based on distribution and placement research conducted in association with SparkMinds.