Abbreviation | ABI |
---|---|
Formation | 1985 |
Purpose | Insurance |
Headquarters | America Square London, EC3 United Kingdom |
Region served | United Kingdom |
Membership | 250+ UK insurance companies |
Director General | Hannah Gurga |
Main organ | ABI Board (Chair of the ABI - Rt Hon. Baroness Nicky Morgan), President of the ABI, Barry O'Dwyer, Deputy President of the ABI, Cristina Nestares, Independent Non-Executive Director and Senior Independent Director (SID), Baroness Dianne Hayter |
Staff | 100 |
Website | abi.org.uk |
The Association of British Insurers, or ABI, is a trade association made up of insurance companies in the United Kingdom.
The ABI began in 1985 after several specialised insurance industry trade associations joined to form one trade association for the UK insurance industry (excluding Lloyd's of London), including the British Insurance Association, the Life Offices’ Association, the Fire Offices Committee, the Accident Offices Association, the Industrial Life Offices Association and the Accident Offices Association (Overseas).
The UK insurance industry is the largest in Europe and the third largest in the world.
In 2014, there was a "shock" announcement that Legal & General was leaving as one of ABI's around 300 corporate members, due to the ABI's "decision to transfer its investment business to the Investment Management Association." [1] ABI, says the Insurance Journal, warned about modern building materials like external cladding posing a fire risk before the Grenfell Tower Fire. [2] In July 2019 Amanda Blanc stepped down as ABI chair. It still had Huw Evans as director general of ABI. [3] In March 2020, ABI suggested to the press that "most companies would not be covered by a BI policy even in the event of a Government mandated shut down" over Coronavirus. [4] On March 19, 2020, Nicola Sturgeon argued publicly that insurance companies should do more to help with Coronavirus in Scotland and the UK. [5]
According to the association, it has around 250 companies in membership, which between them provide 90% of domestic insurance services sold in the UK. ABI member companies account for almost 20% of investments in London's stock market. Its members are major tax contributors, paying £10.4 billion in the 2010 / 2011 tax year. The organisation is funded by members' subscriptions.
Its offices are at One America Square, 17 Crosswall, City of London, EC3N 2LB. The ABI employed around 100 people in 2009. [6]
The association is a member of Insurance Europe.
The ABI represents the collective interests of the UK's insurance industry. The association speaks out on issues of common interest, works to inform and participate in debates on public policy issues, and acts as an advocate for high standards of customer service in the insurance industry.
Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss in which, in exchange for a fee, a party agrees to compensate another party in the event of a certain loss, damage, or injury. It is a form of risk management, primarily used to protect against the risk of a contingent or uncertain loss.
Lloyd's of London, generally known simply as Lloyd's, is an insurance and reinsurance market located in London, United Kingdom. Unlike most of its competitors in the industry, it is not an insurance company; rather, Lloyd's is a corporate body governed by the Lloyd's Act 1871 and subsequent Acts of Parliament. It operates as a partially-mutualised marketplace within which multiple financial backers, grouped in syndicates, come together to pool and spread risk. These underwriters, or "members", are a collection of both corporations and private individuals, the latter being traditionally known as "Names".
Life insurance is a contract between an insurance policy holder and an insurer or assurer, where the insurer promises to pay a designated beneficiary a sum of money upon the death of an insured person. Depending on the contract, other events such as terminal illness or critical illness can also trigger payment. The policyholder typically pays a premium, either regularly or as one lump sum. The benefits may include other expenses, such as funeral expenses.
Financial services are economic services tied to finance provided by financial institutions. Financial services encompass a broad range of service sector activities, especially as concerns financial management and consumer finance.
Home insurance, also commonly called homeowner's insurance, is a type of property insurance that covers a private residence. It is an insurance policy that combines various personal insurance protections, which can include losses occurring to one's home, its contents, loss of use, or loss of other personal possessions of the homeowner, as well as liability insurance for accidents that may happen at the home or at the hands of the homeowner within the policy territory.
Pool Reinsurance Company Limited, also known as Pool Re, was set up in 1993 by the insurance industry in cooperation with the UK Government in the wake of the IRA bombing of the Baltic Exchange in 1992.
Markel Group Inc. is a group of companies headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, and originally founded in 1930 as an insurance company.
NFU Mutual is a UK insurance composite. As a mutual, its policyholder members own the business, and the executives and directors are accountable to them. The full name of the organisation is National Farmers' Union Mutual Insurance Society Limited.
Trade credit insurance, business credit insurance, export credit insurance, or credit insurance is a type of insurance policy and a risk management product offered by private insurance companies and governmental export credit agencies to business entities wishing to protect their accounts receivable from loss due to credit risks such as protracted default, insolvency or bankruptcy. This insurance product is a type of property and casualty insurance, and should not be confused with such products as credit life or credit disability insurance, which individuals obtain to protect against the risk of loss of income needed to pay debts. Trade credit insurance can include a component of political risk insurance which is offered by the same insurers to insure the risk of non-payment by foreign buyers due to currency issues, political unrest, expropriation etc.
Royal Insurance Holdings plc was a large insurance business originating in Liverpool but based in London from the early 20th century. It merged with Sun Alliance in 1996 to form the Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance Group.
Aviation insurance is insurance coverage geared specifically to the operation of aircraft and the risks involved in aviation. Aviation insurance policies are distinctly different from those for other areas of transportation and tend to incorporate aviation terminology, as well as terminology, limits and clauses specific to aviation insurance.
In insurance claims, a total loss or write-off is a situation where the lost value, repair cost or salvage cost of a damaged property exceeds its insured value, and simply replacing the old property with a new equivalent is more cost-effective.
Insurance law is the practice of law surrounding insurance, including insurance policies and claims. It can be broadly broken into three categories - regulation of the business of insurance; regulation of the content of insurance policies, especially with regard to consumer policies; and regulation of claim handling wise.
The history of insurance traces the development of the modern business of insurance against risks, especially regarding cargo, property, death, automobile accidents, and medical treatment.
Hiscox Ltd. is an Anglo-Bermudan insurance provider, listed on the London Stock Exchange. An underwriter at Lloyd's of London, the company largely specialises in niche areas of the market, offering property and casualty insurance aimed at companies and high-net-worth individuals, as well as cover against such risks as hacking, kidnapping and satellite damage. The company is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.
The Fire Protection Association is the UK's National Fire Safety Organisation. Established in 1946, it specializes on spreading awareness about wildfire. It offers education and training, a fire risk assessment service, a nationwide risk management survey service for insurers, and a membership journal.
Flood Re is a levy and pool system in the United Kingdom which replaced the Statement of Principles agreed between the government and insurance companies. It provides flood insurance coverage to domestic properties deemed at significant risk of flooding. It is estimated that it will ultimately cover the most at risk 2%, or 250,000 homes, though the Centre for Climate Change Economics and Policy suggest 370,000 homes are eligible.
Cuthbert Eden Heath OBE, DL was a British insurance businessman, underwriter, broker, and syndicate owner at Lloyd's of London from 1880 until 1939. A relentless innovator and novel risk-taker, he has been called "the father of modern insurance", "the maker of modern Lloyd's", and "the father of non-marine insurance at Lloyd's", having through his actions transformed Lloyd's from a British marine-only insurer to the complex and varied international general and specialty-risk insurer it is today, and having cemented Lloyd's sterling reputation, as a reliable insurer which promptly and fully paid all valid claims, in the U.S. and throughout the world.
The Financial Conduct Authority v Arch Insurance (UK) Ltd & others [2021] UKSC 1 is a United Kingdom Supreme Court case determining whether commercial insurance policies for business interruption cover claims due to the COVID-19 pandemic and consequent lockdowns. The case has implications on disputed business interruption claims worth at least £1.2 billion and affecting 370,000 businesses, primarily in the hospitality and entertainment sectors. On 15 January 2021, the Supreme Court found in favour of the claimants.
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