The year's biggest stories, quarter by quarter

As far as the insurance sector goes, 2024 has been the year that was.

So, as we hurtle towards the quarter century marker of the New Year at frightening speed, Insurance Times thought it would be prudent to take a quarter by quarter look back at the biggest stories of the year.

Q1 January – March

January 2024 kicked off with a big market exit, as e-commerce giant Amazon made the decision to close down Amazon Insurance Store just 15 months after launching it in the UK.

At the time, Amazon's exit generated much discussion around whether the failure of a big tech firm to penetrate into the insurance market would serve as a warning to other mega-sized tech firms.

The first quarter of the year also saw major regulatory news as the FCA flexed its newly assertive muscles.

January 30 saw the regulator respond to fears that it would ban guaranteed asset protection (Gap) insurance sales, as they were potentially failing to provide fair value, before the announcement came on 9 February that multiple insurers had agreed to pause sales of the product.

This regulatory action has been warned of by the FCA, which said it would take action on any products that did not provide fair value.

What the story points to, however, is that future action on more products can be expected. Indeed, on October 16 the regulator warned that it was investigating the premium finance market to much controversy from insurance providers.

Also in Q1, one of Insurance Times' most popular stories was a report on an offer from Belgian-owned insurer Ageas to acquire insurer Direct Line Group (DLG) for a sum of around £3.09bn.

Ageas was ultimately unsuccessful in its bid, but acquisition talk around DLG didn't end there, with one of Q4's biggest stories ultimately seeing it being acquired.

Q2 April – June

The most popular story with Insurance Times readers from the second quarter of the year once again involved DLG, with news of three major leadership appointments coming in May.

These appointees were appointed by chief executive Adam Winslow, who officially joined from Aviva on March 1 and immediately began constructing a new team to deliver a raft of changes designed to cut costs at the insurer.

A large M&A story also topped the charts in Q2, with Markerstudy's £1.2bn merger with Ardonagh's personal lines broker Atlanta approved by the FCA on 3 June.

The deal was first announced on 15 September 2023 and since being confirmed, has led to more than 700 job cuts, which were announced in October. Markerstudy explained that the deal had resulted in duplication across several roles, which required the tough decision.

Rounding out the top three stories of Q2 was yet more M&A news, as broker Specialist Risk Group (SRG) was purchased in a deal worth more than £1bn.

The deal saw Singapore-based Temasek Holdings and New York-based Warburg Pincus invest in the growth of the business, while management maintained "significant stake" in the business.

In a post-deal interview, chief executive Warren Downey told Insurance Times that the new investment represented the beginning of "chapter two" for the broker's growth journey, which would focus on more M&A, international expansion and entering new business segments.

Q3 July – September

As a disappointingly dreary summer continued in July, the important insurance stories continued to flow.

The most popular story with Insurance Times readers was yet more take over chatter from the market, as both Japan's Ompo Holdings and European insurer Generali were rumoured to be considering a potential acquisition of specialist insurer Hiscox.

In July, news also broke that a class action lawsuit had been launched against freehold owners over what City solicitor Liam Spender called the "national scandal" of "hidden insurance commissions" paid by leaseholders over recent years.

The leasehold buildings insurance commissions scandal erupted over 2023, with this latest development the result of government and the FCA aiming to empower leaseholders to view the costs of the insurance they were ultimate paying for.

Later in the year, in November, the FCA issued an update that described how it would soon launch a consultation on the ban of excessive buildings insurance commission under the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act.

September also saw news that Axa UK had snapped up a former member of Aviva's c-suite as its new chief risk officer.

Q4 October – December

The last quarter of the year saw no let up in the big news, with some of the most viewed stories of the year coming as 2024 approached its end.

In a conclusion to whirling rumours about the fate of DLG, it was confirmed on 6 December that the personal lines insurer's board had accepted a £3.6bn takeover from fellow insurer Aviva.

This represented confirmation of rumours that began with a lower £3.3bn takeover proposal at the end of November.

Between the first report and the offer being accepted, DLG chief executive Adam Winslow, formerly of Aviva, reportedly pleaded with DLG shareholders to back his plans to turn the ship back to profit rather than accept the takeover.

With Christmas day the regulatory deadline for the deal to be officially accepted, the deal is now simply awaiting a ribbon on top.

Also in the fourth quarter, on 8 October, Insurance Times reported on the Guildford headquarters of insurer Allianz being occupied by Palestine Action protestors.

Windows at the insurer's office were smashed and fake blood was splashed across the facade, while specialist police officers were dispatched to eventually remove a number of protestors from the location.

Industry celebration excels at year-end

This year’s Insurance Times Awards, held on 4 December 2024, were a true festive extravaganza.

With snow scattered Christmas trees, frosty blue lighting and glittering snowflakes on stage, Insurance Times had definitely brought Christmas magic to Grosvenor House’s Great Room – an opulent ballroom at the Mayfair-based hotel.

With the scene set for festivities, guests were inundated with an array of exciting entertainment. Live musicians, caricature artists and magicians meandered around the vast room, while on-stage, popular TV presenter Claudia Winkleman powered through the gold, silver and bronze award presentations with personable pizazz.

After guests had enjoyed a decadent three course meal halfway through the awards ceremony, 2008’s The X Factor winner and West End star Alexandra Burke delivered four of her most well loved songs, with the entirety of the room bopping away at their tables, getting selfies with Burke while she sang or dancing around the stage with peers.

Burke delivered renditions of Hallelujah, I’m Every Woman, I Wanna Dance With Somebody and Bad Boys.

The event afterparty was just as engaging, with a live band and DJ bringing life to the downstairs dancefloor and encouraging guests to get to their feet.

Insurance Times would like to thank everyone that attended this month’s event and we hope that you enjoyed the industry-wide celebration of both best practice and Christmas.

Further thanks go to Insurance Times’ amazing events team, the sponsors that backed the Insurance Times Awards and the judges that supported the in-depth, two-stage judging process.

We already can’t wait to celebrate with you again next year!

Review pictures from the night here, read a roundup of social media posts here and find out the full list of winners here.

Merry Christmas from Insurance Times!

As 2024 comes to a close, I think we can all agree that it’s been a corker of a year – our roundup above of the best and most influential stories of the past year certainly prove that UK general insurance really does not sit still for even a minute.

The pace of regulatory change, M&A deals and macroeconomic headwinds have posed a number of challenges this year, but the industry remains resilient and steadfast in its ambition to simply keep going no matter what and deliver for end customers.

Thank you for your hard work this year and thank you for sharing your stories – the good, bad and even slightly ugly – with Insurance Times.

As we go into 2025, we promise to continue being UKGI’s critical friend, bringing you breaking news, insightful and thought provoking features, big hitting profile pieces and must-attend events.

Enjoy your well deserved Christmas break and we look forward to working with you in 2025.

Katie Scott, editor

The annual definitive ranking of UK general insurance brokers reveals which firms have come out on top financially during a competitive year.

Profiles in the report also provide information on the top 50 brokers in the market, including revenue, leadership, business strategy and M&A deals.

This year’s report was sponsored by Arch Insurance (UK) Limited and put together in collaboration with MarshBerry.

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