Aviva says new drivers with telematic insurance policies improve their driving faster than those on standard motor insurance policies. It suggests telematic insurance helps drivers reduce collision claims by almost 50%, after a year of driving while those on standard policies see collision claims drop by almost 30%.

In October, EDII will deliver its insurance innovation programme, Digital Minds Embed, to insurance professionals in Leeds. This marks the first time the training has been delivered outside of London. The move follows a partnership agreement with Markel and the course will be delivered at its City Square House premises in Leeds. EDII has guided 11 London cohorts through the course.

Broker Needham Insurance Services, which is part of The Broker Investment Group, has snapped up Hinckley Insurance Services, which controls gross written premium of £1.2m. It supports customers in its Leicestershire heartland across personal and commercial lines of business. The firm and its four-strong team will continue to operate from the existing office in Hinckley.

More than 1.1 million cat owners in England say the data on their cat’s microchip is out of date, according to research from Direct Line. The survey canvassed more than 1,000 cat owners and suggests 13% of feline microchips carry inaccurate our old information. In June 2024, legislation made it mandatory to microchip cats.

Mazda has done a deal with Wrisk, which will enable the car manufacturer to offer subscription-based insurance to new and used Mazda buyers as well as existing owners. The insurance stipulates that Mazda approved accident repair centres and body shops will carry out necessary repairs.

Embedded insurance specialist EIP has launched an AI-powered tool – Virtual TPAi – which it says automates the entire claims process. EIP says the AI agent sits in the place of a call centre operative and handles customers’ questions about their policy as well as being able to accept and action claims.

Zurich’s SME and mid-market licensed trade customers will receive a flexible approach to opening hours from the insurer as it seeks to support pubs, bars and restaurants operating extended hours during the World Cup.

SunLife has launched into the travel insurance market with a product that is manufactured and administered by Rock Insurance Services Limited and underwritten by Inter Partner Assistance SA. The move sees the provider expand out of its core offering of life insurance and equity release products.

Jensten Underwriting has unveiled a five-year deal that will see Zurich UK provide more than £300m of capacity to the managing general agent. The capacity will support Jensten Underwriting’s cross-class property, casualty and motor lines. It says the agreement enhances its scale, financial strength and long term stability.

Westfield Specialty International has laid out plans to build a UK and European liability portfolio. The expansion comes after Westfield established company market operations in Luxembourg at the end of last year. The carrier aims to underwrite a broad range of liability risks across multiple regulatory and legal jurisdictions.

Management consultancy Oxbow Partners expects the UK motor market to remain profitable this year and next after it recorded profits of around £2bn in 2025. It forecasts that profits will drop to £1.3bn this year and then fall further in 2027. It predicts a combined ratio for the market of 95% in 2026 and 96% in 2027.

Last year, Aviva detected fraud totalling £233m and identified more than 18,400 suspicious claims across its brands, including Direct Line. The carrier says ghost broking rose by 7% and that it stopped a total of 105,000 bogus insurance applications during the year.

Specialist landlord insurance broker Protect My Let, which is part of Howden, has partnered with Addept Insurance Services. The agreement enables Protect My Let to offer Addept’s tenant pet damage protection insurance for landlords – Not for Lions – to its residential landlord customers.

JMG Group has acquired Langton London Insurance Brokers and Portsoken Ltd. It comprises commercial broker Langton London and managing general agent Portsoken. Langton London controls gross written premiums of £7m and has a focus on professional indemnity, cyber, recruitment and specialist SME risks. Portsoken specialises in the recruitment and property professional sectors.

Managing general agent NBS Underwriting has agreed a partnership with AmTrust Specialty Ltd that enables it to offer an additional £5m excess layer on top of its existing £5m primary capacity payer, which is supported by Hadron or Accelerant. NBS Underwriting says the deal enables brokers to place higher limits in a simplified structure.

Managing general agent Pen Underwriting has doubled its cyber cover limit to £10m, which is available for companies with revenues of up to £600m. The new limit is available from 1st July and has been introduced in response to demand from brokers for higher limits.