MS Amlin Insurance has expanded its agreement with data specialist Synectics to enable the insurer to use enhanced customer risk data across its agricultural and commercial property lines. The move comes after Synectics helped MS Amlin improve fraud detection in its motor market business.

RSA Insurance has teamed up with AI-powered risk assessment technology specialist Clearspeed to use its voice analytics solution to improve fraud detection and drive efficiency in the claims process. The insurer said the partnership would enable it to distinguish between genuine and fraudulent claims more quickly and more accurately.

Managing general agent accelerator DA Strategy has announced the launch of Volt Underwriting, which is supported by capacity from Dale Underwriting Partners’ Lloyd’s Syndicate 1729. Volt will provide cover for US and international onshore conventional power and renewable energy risks.

According to this year’s tenth iteration of the KPMG CEO Outlook, three quarters (74%) of insurance leaders are confident they will grow their business over the next three years. In addition, 93% said they expected their company’s headcount to increase during the same period.

London-based payment processing insurtech firm Diesta has secured seed funding of approximately £2.9m. The round was led by FinTech Collective, a New York-based venture capital firm, with participation from Commerce Ventures and existing investors Restive Ventures and SixThirty.

The latest Confused.com Car Insurance Price Index in association with WTW found that comprehensive motor insurance premiums fell by 2% in the three months to the end of September 2024. On an annual basis, premiums are now 7% lower than at the same time last year. This is the first yearly drop since 2021.

Commercial insurer Peach Pi has simplified its name and will now trade as Peach. The insurer is a trading style of NPA Insurance and launched in 2020. NPA Insurance said it was aiming to grow gross written premium to around £28m by the end of next year, much of which will be delivered through Peach. This will include doubling the number of its niche schemes.

Chubb is launching a new construction practice in the UK and Ireland that will bring together specialist underwriters, risk engineers and claims executives across multiple risk areas to create a consolidated offering for brokers and customers. The team will be located across Chubb’s branch network.

Insurer Allianz has warned of the potential risk facing more than 7,000 new homes with full or conditional approval planning permission on previously undeveloped floodplain land. The findings are published in a report commissioned by the insurer and conducted by think tank Localis, entitled Plain dealing revisited: Planning for flood resilience.

Subject to regulatory approval, MIC Global is to become a Lloyd’s coverholder of Greenlight Re’s Syndicate 3456. MIC focuses on embedding micro insurance solutions for platform businesses while Syndicate 3456 specialises in designing products in partnership with insurtechs.

The deadline for entries for the 2025 National Insurance Awards is now four weeks away. Celebrating excellence in the field, the National Insurance Awards highlight the very best in general insurance provision and management in the UK.

Placing Platform Limited has signed a multi-year agreement that will enable it to integrate Microsoft’s data and AI capabilities, as well as its productivity tools, into its speciality insurance trading platform. PPL is a not-for-profit business established in 2016 to cater for the London Market.

Despite September playing host to just seven merger and acquisition deals in the insurance sector, consultancy MarshBerry forecasts an increase in that number as companies push to complete deals ahead of expected increases in capital gains tax it believes will be announced in the forthcoming autumn Budget.

Pearson Ham Group’s general insurance price index for Q3 has found that motor premiums fell by 4.4% during the quarter and were down by 9.6% over the past six months. It found that prices in September 2024 were 8.5% lower than those recorded 12 months previously.

Insurance process automation specialist Concirrus has launched an AI-powered product that uses real-time data and advanced analytics to enable underwriters to process construction risk submissions at speed and to make more informed decisions on pricing and policy acceptance.

Managing general agent Optio Group has acquired a strategic investment in Italian MGA Heca Srl for an undisclosed sum. Founded in 2010, Heca has a multi-product offering supported by a fully digital experience. The deal adds to others in The Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg over recent months.