Data from the latest Confused.com Car Insurance Price Index in association with WTW has shown that comprehensive car insurance premiums are down 16% on last year and now stand at an average of £757. This is the lowest average premiums have been for the past 18 months after reaching a peak of £995 in December 2023.

The Clear Group has acquired Surrey-based commercial broker CR Toogood & Co Limited. The move extends Clear’s presence in the South of England and complements it existing offices in Horsham and London. CR Toogood is a third-generation family business and controls gross written premiums of £14.5m and has a team of 19 people.

Folgate is offering sums insured limits of up to £20m for landlord products traded electronically via Acturis or extranets. The carrier said there was a drop-off in insurers and managing general agents that would quote for e-trade risks with limits over £10m and it estimated that 70% of the market would not quote for e-trade risks with limits over £15m. Folgate said it wanted to plug this gap.

Pen Underwriting is pushing to enhance its e-trade capabilities across its multi-line underwriting and distribution operations. To drive this move, the managing general agent is promoting Jamie Lawson to the newly created role of head of digital e-trade. He previously led on e-trade and distribution for Pen Underwriting’s SME and personal lines division.

Aviva’s acquisition of Direct Line is on course to complete in July after the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority both approved it. The Solicitors Regulation Authority also gave the greenlight to the deal in respect of Aviva taking over DLG Legal Services Limited. Aviva said it was confident of securing the required unconditional clearance required from the Competition and Markets Authority.

Liberty Specialty Markets, which is part of Liberty Mutual Insurance Group has created three new divisions within its UK and MENA region. They are marine and aviation, specialty and property. Meghan Walker (pictured) will lead marine and aviation. Mike Burle will lead the specialty division. The property leader will be announced in due course.

The Association of British Insurers has welcomed the government’s commitment to invest £7.9bn over ten years in flood defences. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said the investment underpinned the largest flood defence programme in history and that every pound spent was expected to prevent around £8 in economic damage.

Independent and privately owned broker Lockton generated revenue of approximately £2.9bn in the year ended 30th April 2025. This was up by 13% on the previous year and was almost entirely the result of organic growth. Lockton said this was the fifth consecutive year it had achieved double-digit organic growth.

The Court of Appeal has given definitive guidance that credit hire organisations are responsible for the costs of unsuccessful litigation. Previously, they were sheltered from the costs of such litigation due to the Qualified One-Way Costs Shifting protection of the claimants.

Insurance provider Paymentshield has added AmTrust Specialty Limited, a subsidiary of AmTrust International, to its tenants’ contents insurance panel, which also includes Tradex and Allianz. Paymentshield said the lettings sector was an area of growth for its business.

Tesco Insurance has urged drivers to contact their local council or road authority if they suffer damage to their vehicle as a result of potholes. The carrier highlighted the need to present information relating to the size of the pothole, its location and the date, time and conditions surrounding the incident. Tesco Insurance said it had seen a 21% year-on-year increase in motor claims relating to potholes.

Lifetime pet policy premiums in May were down by 0.7% on the previous month and by 1.1% on an annual basis, according to data from the latest Pet Insurance Pricing Index from Pearson Ham Group. Dog insurance premiums fell by 0.8% in May while cat insurance premiums also fell by 0.4%.

Specialist Risk Group has appointed Neil Nimmo as its chief executive officer, UK. The intermediary was founded by Warren Downey and Lee Anderson in 2019 and is backed by Warburg Pincus and Temasek. Most recently, Nimmo was chairman of broker Lockton. He will oversee SRG’s retail, wholesale and underwriting pillars in the UK.

Verisk Specialty Business Solutions, part of data analytics and technology provider Verisk, has designed and launched an underwriting platform for the London Market. Verisk Specialty Business Solutions said the technology was scalable and its API enablement meant it could be integrated with existing re/insurer systems. Speciality re/insurer IQUW is the first carrier to implement the platform.

Folgate Underwriting has upped the total sum insured available per location to £70m and said its increased line size could now cater for hotels as well as wholesale and distribution risks. Folgate launched its real estate proposition at the end of 2024.

ARAG plc has reported gross written premium of £77.8m for the 2024 financial year, up from the £66.1m it achieved the previous year. Profit before tax was £1.8m in 2024, more than double the £0.8m returned in 2023. The firm said this was its final set of results before completing the integration with the DAS UK business.