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.

Co-op Insurance and insurtech Urban Jungle have teamed up to launch a new renters product. It provides cover ranging from £10,000 to £50,000 for valuables against risks such as fire, weather damage or theft. Accidental damage and tenants liability cover comes as standard. Optional add-ons, include out of home cover for personal items and accidental damage caused by pets.

Broker software specialist Applied Systems Europe has expanded its collaboration with Bravo Networks to cover client money management for Applied Epic brokers. The added functionality will make it easier for brokers to comply with their regulatory responsibilities.

Insurtech Flock has teamed up with The Acorn Group to create a connected taxi fleet insurance product. It will target medium and large fleets in the private and public hire sectors and use telemetry data from vehicles to promote and reward safer driving.

Fintech specialist Acrisure has acquired two brokers in the South East. Sevenoaks-based Financial and Credit Insurance Services Ltd is a specialist credit insurance broker and surety bond expert. Global Broking Solutions is an accredited Lloyd’s broker and serves clients across Kent and East Sussex.

JMG Group has bulked up its commercial presence in the south with the acquisition of Surrey-based broker SIA Insurance. Chris Browne and Colin Duxberry established SIA in 1996 and it operates across commercial, property and motor lines from its offices in Surbiton.

Market intelligence provider Insurance DataLab has analysed data from the Financial Conduct Authority and highlighted that customers made more than 280,000 complaints about motor insurance in the second half of last year. This was up from just under 240,000 complaints for the same period the previous year.

The MIB has announced that Angus Eaton will become CEO on 1st July, taking up the position from Dominic Clayden. He joins from Hastings Group where he has spent more than four years as group chief risk officer. Clayden will remain with the MIB until the end of the year, acting as a strategic adviser.

International broker network Brokerslink has appointed Alexandra Littlejohn (pictured) to its board of directors. She is executive vice president and managing director at Alliant Retail Property and Casualty.

Direct Line Group has announced that Craig Thornton will become managing director of home and growth, Martin Milliner will become managing director of claims and Hugh Hessing will take up the position of chief operating officer. In addition, Roger Lowry becomes director of corporate affairs and Alexandra Hayes is named as chief of staff.

The latest Premium Price Index from Pearson Ham has shown that premiums for combined buildings and contents home insurance policies increased by 1.6% in April and are now 40% higher than last year. Motor premiums are 28% higher than last year, but down from a peak of 47%.

Allianz Commercial has appointed Faith Kitchen (pictured) as head of client relationships for mid-market. She joins from Ecclesiastical where she was customer segment director and prior to that had spent 16 years at Zurich. She will be responsible for building out the central discipline for mid-market case management.