Increased Fire Safety Reinsurance Facility Provides Relief to More Customers

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11/11/2025

Increased Fire Safety Reinsurance Facility Provides Relief to More Customers

Increased Fire Safety Reinsurance Facility Provides Relief to More Customers Over the last couple of decades, lots of new high-rise structures were built with types of flammable cladding and render such as aluminium and polyurethane. In recent years, many leaseholders have discovered that they are living in buildings which do not meet fire safety standards. The Grenfell fire tragedy highlighted the risk associated with these buildings, and very quickly it was realized that there was a problem on a huge scale.This has caused alarm, worry and distress for leaseholders, which has then been compounded by the practical problems of remediating the fire safety issues and insuring the building.In 2019, mortgage companies began to request EWS1 forms before providing a mortgage. These “External Wall System 1” forms are provided by qualified professionals to indicate the fire safety of a building’s external wall system – particularly for buildings over 18 metres in height. The EWS1 forms then filtered down to insurers. Underwriters had to react to the reality of the risks that were declared on the forms, with the truth often being that a fire could cause loss of an entire building. This had a significant effect on insurance policies, with many insurers unable to accept the risk at all. Insurance brokers began to find policies very difficult to arrange, and where they were available, the prices had increased beyond reasonable affordability. In some cases they had risen by 1000%.[i]An impossible positionLeaseholders were then left in the unenviable position of needing to remedy the safety of their flats while paying astronomical amounts for buildings insurance, as well as living with the emotional drain of knowing that their home was unsafe. Unable to sell, unable to reduce costs, and with bills to remediate the cladding issue that were unfeasibly high, homeowners were in an impossible situation.Property and casualty insurers knew that they needed to respond to the problem, but ...

24/07/2025

What does the rise of “nuclear” verdicts mean for commercial insurance?

The US has seen a rise in recent decades of so called “nuclear” court verdicts – referring to huge payouts; higher than could be anticipated. They often run into multiple millions or even billions of dollars. One research paper, looking at 1288 nuclear verdicts between 2013 and 2022, put the average payout at $89 million.[i]What do nuclear verdicts look like?In nuclear verdicts, damages are in three categories; noneconomic, in which compensation is paid out for suffering which is not financial, such as for chronic physical or emotional pain; economic damages, in which a plaintiff is compensated for a financial loss or burden; and punitive damages, in which the company is obliged to pay out as a punishment, and to force a change of policies or behaviour. [ii]It affects industries such as the auto industry and the medical / pharmaceutical industry and is a big issue with regards to insurance for product and public liabilities.   The concern is that these nuclear verdicts are not always proportionate to the actual damage caused, and that the payouts are unpredictable and – to a certain extent – infinite, making the system difficult to manage and almost impossible to properly insure against. The US Institute for Legal Reform is concerned that rather than being “justice”, the payouts are more like a “massive payday for plaintiffs’ lawyers.” [iii]While nuclear verdicts have generally been seen as a US problem, the issue is moving into Europe. Zurich has warned that litigation funding firms are looking to enter the UK legal system and trying to purchase stakes in UK legal firms. [iv]Why do nuclear verdicts occur?One of the big reasons that nuclear verdicts can happen, is the ability for plaintiff’s lawyers to instigate fear and anger in the jurors. In recent decades this has become easier, as we have seen a healthy rise in the expectation for large corporations to take responsibility for their actions. Huge payouts may make a jury feel that the ...

24/07/2025

Ensuring the Future of Insurance: Educating Generation Z

A recent study has found that 25% of insurance professionals are looking to retire within the next decade, while at the same time, only 4% of young people have a career in insurance as a consideration. [i] These concerning statistics point to the risk of an imminent skill shortage within the insurance industry. As a specialist recruitment agency, we at Aston Charles are already starting to notice a reduction in the number of young people looking for jobs within insurance. While we continue to see a wide talent pool among millennials and Generation X, there are fewer and fewer young people entering at graduate level.What do Generation Z think about insurance?The figures indicating a lack of interest in insurance careers among young people is not a surprise; in fact Generation Z (currently aged between around 13 and 28) are increasingly disinterested in the concept of insurance in general. Generation Z are the least insured generation, with 17% of Gen Z adults having no type of insurance for anything (almost double the number of millennials without insurance, at 9%). [ii]Far from only being concerned about attracting Gen Z into insurance careers, we need to start from the beginning and support them to understand the importance of taking out insurance polices that can protect them in the case of unforeseen events. Once they understand this, it can be a building block upon which to open up a dialogue about the career pathways within the industry. How do we encourage Gen Z talent into P&C Insurance?For young people in their early-to-mid 20's there are already a number of exciting graduate roles available. These are a great opportunity for young people to enter the industry with lots of potential for career progression. However, we are now seeing that there is a real need for the insurance sector to start to start thinking even earlier than graduate schemes.It would make sense for insurance careers to be marketed to the younger age of the generation; even ...

24/07/2025

“A New Era” at the BIBA Conference 2025

In May 2025, the team at Aston Charles were delighted to be able to enjoy one of the highlights of the insurance industry calendar, with a two-day visit to the British Insurance Broker’s Association conference. Located in Manchester, this annual conference is one of the most prestigious gatherings for insurance professionals held in Europe. Aston Charles Director, James Heald says of the 2025 conference: “It was great for us to network with potential new clients, as well as having a chance to spend more time with some of our existing connections. The conference felt even busier this year, and it was such a good opportunity to see so many insurance professionals in one place.”A New EraWith the theme this year being titled, “a New Era”, the focus was on the future of broking in a changing world. The conference was centred around a realistic examination of the evolving landscape of insurance; looking at proactive responses to political, digital, economic and climate changes that are affecting the sector in profound ways.Inevitably, there was a strong spotlight on AI this year. Right from the opening speech, made by BIBA CEO, Graham Trudgill, AI was acknowledged as having a “revolutionary” impact on the industry. AI was discussed in multiple talks and panels, as well as being centre stage in a number of exiting exhibitions. The CFC interactive exhibition was especially popular, giving delegates the opportunity to explore deep fake imaging for themselves, in an AI photo booth.A focus on inclusionHappily, there was a strong focus on inclusivity at the 2025 conference. Unfortunately, we still see disparity within the industry with pay gaps and opportunity gaps for some demographics. The “women in insurance” breakfast was a great opportunity to further discuss career progression and inclusion.It was good to see a day dedicated to “young brokers” which was well attended – this was a real encouragement, given the challenges currently faced with getting more young people to ...

14/07/2025

Aston Charles Features In The Industry Press

Following a LinkedIn post that went (according to himself!) “viral”, Richard Jones was featured in the Insurance Post publication twice in as many weeks. Richard’s post, using an artificial intelligence generated image of the Lloyd’s of London building frozen in an ice cube, led to his contribution on a series of articles centred around ‘Are pay freezes jeopardising broker staff retention?’ Not that he checks on a daily basis, but Richard assures us that the post has made over 9,400 ‘impressions’ from people across the world, but unfortunately Richard reports that his invitation to participate on Celebrity Big Brother is yet to land at Aston Charles Towers! ...

10/07/2025

BIBA 2025

The Team made their annual pilgrimage over to Manchester for the BIBA Conference. This year’s theme was ‘A New Era’, and the conference explored topics like digital transformation, artificial intelligence, regulatory changes, and emerging market trends, all reflecting the evolving landscape of the insurance industry and the opportunities and challenges they present for brokers. With over 9,500 attendees, 220 stalls and 50 guest speakers (ranging from Heavyweight boxer Anthony Joshua through to former Secretary of State for Defence, Penny Morduant!) it was certainly a varied and interesting year, and as ever, a great opportunity to catch up with friends from across the industry!...

13/01/2025

Supporting The Leeds South and East Foodbank

Responding to a plea for assistance from our friends in the insurance community, the Team at Aston Charles leaped into action and volunteered to help collect much needed supplies for the Leeds South and East Foodbank. The Insurance Institute of Leeds and Emerging Insurance Professionals (Leeds Institute) set off to Tesco in Garforth to collect financial and food donations from passing shoppers. Between them, the team filled 22 crates (and counting!) and raised over £100 for the Trussell Trust, who distribute food to needy local families. For more information or to support the Leeds South and East Food bank, please visit https://leedssouthandeast.foodbank.org.uk...

20/11/2024

Will New Vehicle Risk Ratings Disadvantage Electric Fleets?

Will New Vehicle Risk Ratings Disadvantage Electric Fleets?Recent decades have seen a global push towards net zero and sustainability, with lots of large companies looking for ways in which they can become more environmentally friendly.More recently, many businesses that own vehicles have started building up fleets of electric vehicles, with a view to reducing their carbon outputs.However, a recent update in the way that insurance is categorised may have an impact on decisions around new EV purchases, with some concern that there might be an increase in costs. But is this really an issue?What are the new Vehicle Risk Ratings?In 2024 the car insurance industry, led by Thatcham Research, announced a new system for categorising insurance ratings, with the former Insurance Groups Ratings Scheme being replaced by a new Vehicle Risks Ratings (VRRs) System. The idea of the new system is that a car purchaser will be able get a clear picture of the cost of insurance prior to making a purchase. Under the new system, a car’s ranking may change after purchase has been made, leading to the insurance category of a vehicle changing over time.The VRR system will assess cars over five key elements; performance, damageability, repairability, safety and security.[i] Each of these five assessments will be given a score between 1 and 99. [ii] This is almost double the score of the current Insurance Groups Ratings Scheme (which is from 1 – 50).Will this increase the insurance for Electric Vehicles?Some commentators on the new model have pointed out that the new “repairability” aspect of VRR will disproportionately affect Electric Vehicles. The repairability category has the highest weighting for insurers, so this is really key. [iii] The assessment of repairability will take into account the ease and expense with which a vehicle can be repaired; with electric vehicles likely to take a hard hit in this area, due to a variety of factors, including the current difficulty in ...

20/11/2024

Carbon insurance: What is it, and why does it matter?

Carbon insurance: What is it, and why does it matter?Over recent decades, most corporations have become increasingly aware - and concerned about - their responsibility towards the planet. Since at least the 1990’s, there has been a strong push globally towards sustainability, averting climate change and achieving “net zero” carbon emissions.However, for many businesses, the releasing of some level of carbon during their operations is inevitable. In response to this problem, a new market has emerged, known as carbon offsetting. The insurance industry has not been far behind, offering a “carbon insurance” to support this emerging sector. This new type of insurance has a number of challenges but is vital to the carbon offsetting model.What is carbon offsetting, and what are carbon credits?Finding ways to reduce and offset emissions is not a brand-new concept. Ways to stop climate change were discussed at the 1992 Earth Summit (from which the United Nations Framework Convention for Climate Change was born in 1994). The UNFCCC is now ratified by 198 Countries.[i]The Paris Agreement of 2015 was an international treaty focused on stopping climate change. It has further led to countries developing targets and regulations. [ii]In addition to legislation mandating that companies limit or offset any carbon that they produce, consumers are voting with their feet and are increasingly supporting businesses that are conscious of their environmental impact. All this creates a situation in which businesses are both constrained to reduce and offset carbon emissions (through “compliance”) and are also often voluntarily going above and beyond even what legislation forces them to do (through “voluntary” offsets).Often, regulations will mandate a “cap” on the amount of carbon that a company can produce. This can then create a situation in which companies trade carbon credits between themselves. Companies who are under their cap may sell carbon credits to companies that go over ...

20/11/2024

The Insurance Institute of Leeds: Embracing Risk – Living Life Without Limits

The Insurance Institute of Leeds: Embracing Risk – Living Life Without LimitsThe Aston Charles Team were delighted to be invited by our friends at The Insurance Institute of Leeds to attend their most recent event.Hosted at the Carriage Works in Leeds City Centre, the event was delivered by the former Royal Marine Commando, Covert Operations Leader and successful entrepreneur turned public speaker, Mike Bates. Pitching to a roomful of insurance professionals, it was truly fascinating to hear how Mike (who is being increasingly referred to in the press as ‘The Real Life James Bond’) has experience of handling a vast amount of complex risks, including things such as Combat Tours of Afghanistan, Anti-Terror undercover work, and rowing solo across the Atlantic Ocean!  This gave us all an insight into: Appreciation of risk and how to adapt attitudes towards risk. How to boost mental resilience – business and personal. How to adapt to difficult situations and think more clearly. Understanding how to unlock your personal potential. Mike’s hour-long talk flew by in what seemed like no time at all, and we were all in agreement that Mike is a highly entertaining, thought-provoking and inspirational speaker. Speaking to fellow attendees after the event, it was obvious that everyone really enjoyed the talk and took a lot away that they could use in their personal and professional lives....

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