Purbeck Insurance Services has launched a new apprenticeship scheme and is about to begin interviewing candidates with the aim of starting two apprentices in April. The 18-month programme works towards a Level 3 Insurance Practitioner qualification. It will be delivered in partnership with training provider BPP.

Chaucer Group has teamed up with Armilla AI to offer an insurance solution – Vanguard AI – that caters for cyber, technology and AI-related liability within a single framework. It combines Chaucer’s cyber and technology errors and omissions product with Armilla’s standalone AI liability insurance and applies predefined allocation rules to events to allocate how the individual elements of cover will respond.

DOA Underwriting has launched a new private clients travel insurance product, underwritten by Axa and available only through brokers. Brokers can access the new cover via Sunworld, which is DOA’s online travel insurance platform offering quote and bind functionality.

Managing general agent Helix Underwriting Partners Bermuda has partnered with PartnerRe Insurance Programmes to launch Helix International, which offers direct and facultative property capacity within the London Market. It will provide all risk property coverage for clients ranging from small businesses to large corporations.

Ecclesiastical Insurance investigated more than 280 cases of suspected fraud in 2025, up by 20% on the previous year. Its actions saved more than £3m in fraudulent claims, of which more than £2m was accounted for by bogus casualty claims.

Well Dunn Group has announced that its broker brands – Insurance Revolution and Barry Grainger – haver agreed a partnership with premium finance provider PremFina. Well Dunn Group said PremFina’s technology platform would provide it with the required scale and flexibility for planned future growth.

Cyber risk specialist CyberCube has named Chris Methven as chief executive officer. He takes over from Pascal Millaire who becomes a senior advisor to the firm. Methven joined the business in 2020 as chief growth officer and his promotion follows an investment of more than £130m in October last year, led by Spectrum Equity.

Toyota has extended its three-year fixed price insurance offer on new cars until the end of March. It was launched on 1st November 2025 and was initially scheduled to close on 31st January 2026. It said the extended offer would support customers looking to simplify their insurance and add certainty to their vehicle ownership costs.

Commercial insurance broker Compare Insurance has acquired the book of business from Insurance My Business. Swansea-based Compare said the deal would add 3,000 new clients to the business and 8 new team members.

Lifetime pet premiums fell by 2.3% in Q4 of last year, reversing the 0.9% increase recorded in the previous quarter. The figures come from the latest pet insurance pricing index from Pearson Ham and highlight the impact of increasing competition on rates despite rising veterinary costs.

Chase has entered the UK insurance market with a bundled product that combines covers for worldwide travel, mobile phones and vehicle breakdown. It is available to Chase customers at a monthly fixed rate of £12.50 and the bank said it had designed the product to be a simple and convenient way to insure common risks. The cover is offered as an add-on to customers with a Chase current account.

Consumer Intelligence’s latest home insurance price index shows that for the 12 months to the end of December 2025, quoted premiums for home insurance were down by 12.1% and by 1% for the final quarter of the year.

Zurich Insurance has reached an agreement in principle on key financial terms of a takeover of Beazley, after months of rejected bids. In a statement issued this morning, the two companies said Zurich had raised its bid to 1,310 pence per share, up from the most recently rejected offer of 1,280 pence.

Axa UK has selected the first 20 participants in its new commercial broker development programme, which aims to enhance their senior leadership capabilities. The programme launches with a three-day residential seminar in Paris. It will focus on succession planning and include scenario simulations to test and build participants’ skills.

Broking and underwriting technology provider Artificial Labs has completed a Series B funding round worth approximately £33m. European fintech investor CommerzVentures led the round with support from Move Capital Fund I and existing investors. Artificial Labs said the investment would enable it to reinforce its position in the London Market and develop its international reach.

Aviva Private Clients, which is the insurer’s high net worth business, has launched its proposition in the Lloyd’s market, offering its cover exclusively through Lloyd’s brokers. The cover can be written in multiple currencies, offering clients protection for their property and assets.