Specialist motor insurer ERS has launched a new top-end personal lines proposition called Private Client Ultimate that will sit alongside its existing Prestige motor offering. Private Client Ultimate is aimed at high net worth clients with complex motor insurance needs. It provides cover for single vehicles valued at £350,000 and collections valued at £500,000.

Allianz Commercial has struck a deal with Reel Media that will see the managing general agent manage its entertainment underwriting business. Reel Media is a wholly owned subsidiary of Paragon Insurance Holdings. Cover will continue to be written on AA rated paper from Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty SE.

Aviva plc has reported a group operating profit of £2.2bn for 2025, which is up by 25% on the £1.8bn posted the previous year. It said this included a £174m contribution from Direct Line, which Aviva acquired last year.

Admiral Group plc achieved a profit before tax of £958m in 2025, up by 16% on the previous year. Its group combined ratio was 80.1% for the year having deteriorated by 3.2 percentage points on the 76.9% achieved in 2024.

Motor insurance pricing nudged down by 0.1% in the three months to January 2026, according to data from Consumer Intelligence. It said this meant annual premiums had fallen by 3.3% on an annual basis, down from the 9.1% annual deflation recorded three months earlier.

Data from pricing consultancy Pearson Ham shows that van insurance premiums are down by 14% in the past year and are approximately 25% down from their peak in October 2024. However, Pearson Ham said pricing strategies employed by providers over the past 12 months varied significantly with the range of rate reductions over the year ranging from 7% to 34%.

Consumer watchdog Which? has called on the Financial Conduct Authority to examine if insurers are being slow to agree liability and settle storm damage claims. Since October, Which? said there had been six named storms and that it was concerned with how some insurers were approaching cover for storms and handling associated claims.

Financial consultancy MarshBerry has said that although the 13 insurance distribution deals announced so far in 2026 are up on the 10 announced during the same period last year, the figure is significantly below the long-term average of 18.2.

Beazley has reported a 19% drop in PBT to US$1,146.5m for 2025 (from US$1,423.5m in 2024). Net insurance written premiums were broadly stable at US$5,198.7m, while the undiscounted combined ratio rose slightly to 81% and RoE fell to 19%.

Asda Money has launched a mobile and gadget insurance proposition which it has delivered in collaboration with insurance intermediary, Taurus Insurance Services. The product offers three tiers of cover. The entry-level policy provides accidental damage cover with theft, and loss and mechanical breakdown cover available with the second and third tier options. The insurance is for mobile phones and gadgets such as tablets, smartwatches and laptops.

Managing general agent Globe Underwriting, which is part of Ardonagh, has rebranded as Orvia Underwriting and migrated its business to the platform of the same name. Ardonagh launched Orvia Underwriting earlier this year as its pan-European managing general agent platform.

London Market broker Price Forbes, which is part of The Ardonagh Group, has agreed to partner with mea Platform and use its AI technology to enhance its operational efficiency and service proposition across the broker’s business. Price Forbes said mea Platform’s technology would be used to improve data ingestion and document processing across submissions, enquiries, and related workflows.

Re/insurance broker Consilium has launched a multi-line policy for private equity firms offering cover for professional liability, crime and D&O exposures. Consilium said its professional and executive risks division had designed the policy in collaboration with its in-house legal counsel to address the complex exposures faced by private equity firms.

Musical instrument and equipment specialist Lark Music has partnered with the Gibson Garage London to launch a free, 12-month point-of-sale cover available to UK customers buying Gibson and Epiphone priced above £1,500. Lark Music is part of Howden.

Young broker Ismaeel Latif has launched Manchester-based Red Apple Brokers under the Coversure umbrella with an emphasis on customer support and education. He said his decision to launch a broker after just eight years in the industry was driven by a desire to promote better customer education.

White Mountains Insurance Group has made a structured capital investment of almost £95m in Bishop Street Underwriters, which is a RedBird Capital Partners portfolio company that owns UK managing general agents Avid and Landmark Underwriting.