The British Insurance Brokers’ Association has renewed the travel scheme that Jackson Lee Underwriting provides to its members. The scheme gives members access to holiday, sports and business travel insurance policies to cover individuals, families, groups and sports teams.

George Shirley and Harry McAlister have set up Bontra AI with the aim of overcoming many of the recruitment issues that blight the industry and prevent firms from securing a consistent quality of candidates. Shirley was previously an account executive at Howden Insurance Brokers while McAlister comes from a technology background.

Managing general agent Alps has responded to the deterioration of the UK’s road surfaces by launching a pothole add-on policy for brokers. The insurance provides up to £2,000 of cover for pothole related damage to vehicles including private cars, motorcycles, commercial vehicles and motorhomes up to 3.5 tonnes.

Consumer satisfaction with insurers in Q1 2026 sits at 86%, the highest level recorded since the Chartered Insurance Institute began recording the data in 2019. The findings came from the CII’s latest public trust index, which monitors the market’s performance in motor, travel and buildings and contents insurance across 9 metrics – loyalty, confidence, ease, protection, price, relationship, speed (claims), respect (claims) ad control (claims).

Intermediary Howden has penned an agreement to acquire the insurance and financial services consulting team at Hymans Robertson LLP. The deal also sees the launch of Howden Insurance Actuarial and Longevity, broadening the scope of expertise the firm can offer to clients. Howden said the new division would combine the Hymans Robertson LLP team as well as the personnel brought on board following the Barnett Waddingham acquisition in Q1 2025.

Admiral Business has launched a new taxi insurance proposition for public and private hire drivers, adding to the products it offers to SMEs, sole traders and contractors. Initially, Admiral Business will offer single vehicle taxi cover with plans to extend this to fleets later in the year.

Folgate Underwriting Agency Limited has expanded its product offering with the launch of a new professional indemnity product aimed at financial advisers and mortgage brokers. The managing general agent said policy limits of up to £5m were available and brokers also had access to excess of loss top up facilities.

Readhunt has achieved Lloyd’s Broker status enabling it to provide clients with direct access to the Lloyd’s market. The firm is part of SRT and Partners, which was founded in 2024 and is backed by BP Marsh and Partners plc. Since launch, SRT has acquired Readhunt and First Business Finance.

Comprehensive motor premiums fell by 9% during the last year, according to data from the latest Confused.com car insurance price index in association with WTW. It found that motorists were now paying an average of £711 for cover. The index showed that premiums were now 29% lower than their peak of £995 in December 2023. However, the data suggested rates could be on the turn.

Digital risk processing platform Cytora has formed a partnership with Ideal Postcodes, which offers address validation and postcode lookup services. Cytora will incorporate Ideal Postcodes’ datasets into its platform, enabling commercial insurers to capture, verify, and clean address data at the point of underwriting.

The winners of the 2026 National Insurance Awards were announced last night at a gala dinner and awards ceremony at the London Marriott Hotel, Grosvenor Square. Hosted by the one and only Ivo Graham, the awards highlight the very best in general insurance provision and management.

Personal lines broker Ceta has added a new notional product for standard homes to its panel. It is called ClearSure. The product complements its existing non-standard household notional product, Adept. ClearSure offers buildings cover up to a maximum of £1m and contents cover up to a maximum of £100,000.

Axa UK and Ireland has created a new general insurance business – Axa Insurance UK – which combines its UK commercial and retail units into a single entity under a single leadership structure. Jon Walker becomes CEO of Axa Insurance UK. Previously, he was CEO of Axa Commercial and had been acting as CEO of Axa Retail since the end of last year.

Managing general agent Amiga Specialty has agreed a capacity deal with Axa XL to support its financial institutions proposition and help it grow its international portfolio across directors’ and officers’ liability, professional liability, and crime.

EY has forecast the UK home insurance market will return a net combined ratio of 103% this year, following the 98% it achieved in 2025. It said competitive pressures would push premiums down by 3%, making an average policy £10 cheaper at £320. This compares to £330 in 2025 and £329 in 2024.

Manchester-based Principal Insurance has acquired Bristol-based Europa Group, which includes the MotorCycle Direct brand and Europa Underwriting, which trades under the Ridersure wholesale brand. Principal said it had financed the deal through shareholder funds.