The Broker Investment Group has made a strategic investment in Deva Risk Group, which has four offices and 29 staff controlling gross written premium of £11m. Deva, named after the Roman word for Chester, was created in 2016 as the holding company for the buyout of Chester-based Daulby Read. It has since made four acquisitions of its own.

The British Insurance Brokers’ Association wrapped up its two-day conference in Manchester with a commitment to return to the city with the event for the next two years. In 2025, it will take place on the 14th and 15th of May. In 2026, it will be held on the 13th and 14th of May.

Addressing his first conference as CEO of the British Insurance Brokers’ Association, Graeme Trudgill told the audience at the two-day Manchester event that he wanted to drive positive change through co-operation. He called for regulatory stability and urged the industry to help close the protection gap through innovation.

Managing general agent Generation Underwriting, which is part of the WF Risk Group, has launched a digital e-trade platform to help it expand its distribution, particularly among regional brokers. The platform, built by SchemeServe, will initially offer residential and commercial property owners policies.

Ardonagh Specialty will rebrand its reinsurance business to Price Forbes Re. The new brand will apply to Inver Re in London and Bermuda and Equinox Re in the US. The move builds on the group’s work to simplify its brands in 2023 and Price Forbes will become the group’s main brand for wholesale businesses.

Arch Insurance International has launched a regional event insurance product. It provides traditional indemnity protection for cancellation, as well as a parametric option providing cover on an agreed value basis. The product is available via Arch IQ, a new quote and bind platform. Cover extension options include civil commotion, computer system failure, key person, national mourning and terrorism.

Jensten Group is to split its wholesale division. The Jensten London Market unit, headed by David Skinner, will report to the core broking trading division under Rob Organ (pictured). Jensten Underwriting, will now operate as a standalone business unit.

Non-standard property specialist Ceta Insurance, which is part of the Atec Group, has gone live on IS2’s Atlas Platform, a digital trading and distribution platform for the schemes market. The move gives Ceta more control on pricing and enables it to distribute products across multiple channels.

1st Central, which is part of First Central Insurance and Technology Group has entered the home insurance market. The buildings and contents cover is available directly or via Confused.com. It will be made available on other comparison sites in the near future.

Applied Systems has announced a 48% jump in the gross written premium traded on its commercial lines e-trading platform in the 12 months to March 2024. It said the number of brokers using its Applied Epic broker management system had increased by more than 20%.

Research commissioned by Allianz Commercial has identified inflation and the cost of living, the state of the UK economy, and cash flow as the top three threats to SMEs. The insurer also highlighted the top three specific business challenges as energy bills, competition and the late payment of invoices.

Addept Group has acquired Policywise Limited with plans to rebrand it as Addept Insurance Services and provide a range of ancillary products on a wholesale basis. Addept was established by Richard Finan, a founder and former director of Arc Legal Assistance.

Data from Premium Credit shows that 55% of SMEs are using credit to pay for their insurance cover. This is up from 51% the previous year. The research showed that 27% of firms had reduced their level of cover in the past year, slightly up on the 25% found to be cutting cover the previous year.

Pearson Ham Group has recorded a drop in pet insurance premiums in its Q1 2024 Quarterly Pet Insurance Price Index, which it linked to the investigation into the veterinary sector by the Competition and Markets Authority. While price falls were not uniform in all areas of cover, Pearson Ham said the drop in lifetime cover premiums represented a significant change in trends.

Commercial insurance platform Aurora has partnered Axa to launch a management liability policy. The product offers three heads of cover: directors and officers liability, employment practices liability and corporate legal liability.

JMG Group company Greenwood Moreland has acquired Hamilton Robertson Insurance Brokers, which has offices in Glasgow and London and includes a specialist motor division named C&A Mackie Insurance Brokers. The acquisition adds £15m of gross written premium to Greenwood Moreland.