Latest news with #Allianz
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Allianz to shed 650 insurance jobs in UK amid market pressure
Allianz is laying off 650 employees in its UK insurance division as the company navigates challenging market conditions, reported the Financial Times, citing sources. The insurer has informed employees that the redundancies will impact roles across its commercial, speciality and personal insurance units. The UK arm currently employs around 4,200 staff under various brands including Petplan. In internal communications, Allianz cited the 'backdrop of higher claims costs and softening market conditions' within its personal insurance segment. The German insurer has pledged to invest a further £200m (€233.93m) into its UK operations this year, following a similar investment in 2024. In 2023, Allianz UK reported a 52% rise in annual operating profits to £368m, with business volume growing by 5.5% to £4.7bn. Colm Holmes, UK CEO, said in February that the 'job is [by] no means finished', pointing to ongoing efforts to strengthen technical capabilities, pricing strategy and digital trading. The company engaged in twin acquisitions of Legal & General and LV general insurance businesses in 2020. The group plans to retire the LV= brand by 2026 as part of its rebranding initiative. In Q1 2025, Allianz reported net income attributable to shareholders of €2.42bn, down 2.1% from the same quarter in 2024. "Allianz to shed 650 insurance jobs in UK amid market pressure " was originally created and published by Life Insurance International, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site.
Reuters
3 hours ago
- Business
- Reuters
UniCredit brings Italian life insurance business in house
MILAN, June 20 (Reuters) - Italy's second-biggest bank UniCredit ( opens new tab said it had brought its Italian life insurance business in house and will apply for capital relief measures known as 'Danish compromise' for banks that own insurers. Under CEO Andrea Orcel, UniCredit is looking for ways to boost fee income and has bought out its life insurance partners in Italy, taking full control of its local joint ventures with CNP Assurances and Allianz ( opens new tab. The two transactions will help the bank add 400 million euros in yearly insurance revenues by 2027 compared with 2024. The Italian joint-venture with France's CNP is now called UniCredit Life Insurance (ULI) and the one with Allianz has become UniCredit Vita Assicurazioni (UVA), it said. Both will be led by group insurance head Alessandro Santoliquido. ULI and UVA are expected to merge in 2026, it said in a statement. UniCredit said the resulting entity would hold a leadership position in high-value segments such as unit-linked and term life policies. UniCredit said it would apply to be classed as a financial conglomerate, subject to enhanced supervision, to benefit from the favourable Danish Compromise capital rules which have now become permanent under European Union rules. The Danish Compromise reduces the burden for banks of owning an insurer by letting them hold capital against insurance assets on a risk-weighted basis rather than deducting them in full from their capital. In non-life, UniCredit will continue to partner with Allianz through the joint venture UniCredit Allianz Assicurazioni. The capital hit of 25 basis points from Friday's move announced on Friday will be offset once UniCredit is classed as a financial conglomerate and secures the Danish Compromise benefits, it said.
Miami Herald
7 hours ago
- Politics
- Miami Herald
Pro-Palestinian group break into Britain's largest air force base
June 20 (UPI) -- A pro-Palestinian group announced early Friday it managed to break into Britain's largest air force base and damage two planes in what it said was a protest against the country's support of Israel. Palestine Action posted video footage to its X account that allegedly shows members of its group, who they refer to as "actionists," on the grounds of RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, where they sprayed red paint on two Airbus Voyager air-to-air refueling tankers before successfully making an escape. Additionally, although not shown in the video, the group also damaged the planes with crowbars and left a Palestinian flag behind. In the post, Palestine Action purports that Britain sends planes daily to a base in Cyprus, from where it can "collect intelligence, refuel fighter jets and transport weapons to commit genocide in Gaza." U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer stated Friday on social media that "The act of vandalism committed at RAF Brize Norton is disgraceful." "Our Armed Forces represent the very best of Britain and put their lives on the line for us every day," he continued, "It is our responsibility to support those who defend us." Palestine Action posted a photo later Friday morning of what it alleges to be an office that is used by the Allianz Group financial services providers company, located in the British city of Chelmsford. The image ostensibly shows a doorway and stairs spray painted red, with what appears to be a door or window broken and covered with a board. "By providing insurance to Elbit Systems, Allianz enables the production of Israeli weaponry on British soil," the group alleged, before threatening to continue with attacks "until Allianz ends all ties to Israel's biggest arms producer." Elbit Systems is an Israel-based military technology company and defense contractor. Copyright 2025 UPI News Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
German insurer Allianz slashes 650 British jobs amid 'higher claims costs and softening market conditions'
Allianz has told staff that it is slashing 650 jobs in the UK. The German insurer is making cuts to its commercial, speciality and personal insurance business teams. It employs around 6,000 people in the UK at sites including its Guildford headquarters and a legal protection office in Bristol. It is facing a 'backdrop of higher claims costs and softening market conditions' in its personal insurance unit. Redundancies will be completed by the end of 2025. It said: 'We are investing in a multi-year transformation programme to become a simpler, digital-led, leaner business.' It spent more than £1billion to buy the general insurance division of LV= in 2020.
Time Magazine
2 days ago
- Business
- Time Magazine
It's Time For Leaders To Boost Their Climate Ambition As Costs Rise
'One of these days we are going to face a truly staggering loss.' Warren Buffett's final letter to Berkshire Hathaway investors this year is worth re-reading. The message from a man worth over $150 billion is clear: the climate crisis is getting worse and we need to be prepared. Buffett is not alone. A spate of mostly unreported warnings from leading insurance companies landed in 2025, all with equally bleak messages. Allianz said climate poses a ' systemic risk ' to its portfolio. GallagherRE said $150 billion damages a year from climate-related events is a ' new normal.' MunichRE talks of $320 billion losses from these impacts in 2024. Aviva says extreme weather damages from 2014 to 2023 hit $2 trillion. When insurers are this vocal, we really ought to take notice. We live in an era in which many oil and gas experts increasingly feel the need to argue that accelerating the transition away from dirty energy represents a risk. They rarely, if ever, mention the costs of extreme weather due to climate change. But when even an organization in an oil rich county warns of the impacts, it's clear no one is ignoring this challenge. One of Saudi Arabia's top research institutes KAPSARC says its ability to produce fresh water will face increasing challenges as oceans warm. No water, not much life. Gunther Thallinger, who sits on Allianz's board, writes we are fast approaching temperature levels 'where insurers will no longer be able to offer coverage for many of these risks.' The fact is, business leaders are preparing for worsening weather conditions. The risks are very real, as are the costs. Often I hear: If only we had a plan. In truth, we already have a plan: It's called the Paris Agreement, which I helped deliver in 2015. We are not seeing countries shift as fast as they need to, but we are seeing them shift. This was always part of the plan. In 2024, $2 trillion was invested globally in the clean transition versus $1 trillion in fossil fuels. And as agreed in Paris, every five years more than 190 countries are now submitting plans for shifting off fossil fuels. The next tranche of these plans are due this year. In the coming months we can expect the E.U., India, and China to deliver their goals for 2035. Given they represent nearly 45% of global emissions, these three are key. For Brussels, this is a reality check. I believe an increasingly competitive and confident E.U. can—and will—strike hard, embracing the 'electricity' age and freeing itself from the self-imposed shackles of Russian, Gulf, and U.S. gas dependency. Clean energy—as the International Energy Agency makes clear —'protects consumers from price volatility.' In China, rapidly expanding clean energy has sent carbon emissions into reverse for the first time, part of a 15 year plan by Beijing to electrify its economy and reduce its dependence on fossil fuels. The opportunity now is to turn this inflection point into a sustained decline. President Xi reaffirmed this goal in April, signalling China's continued commitment to its dual carbon targets. In India, air pollution and extreme heat waves are getting worse. The country has faced over 400 extreme weather events in the past three decades, causing at least 80,000 deaths and economic losses totalling $180 billion. Quitting coal is a win-win-win—for economies, human health, and the planet. Yes, diplomacy is hard and it moves slowly. Yes, the world faces headwinds. But consider the alternative path that the myriad fossil fuel experts would have us take. A world where climate damages rise fast in every region spiking food prices and disrupting already fragile supply chains. A world marked by instability and rising conflict, volatile markets, and erratic oil prices driven by the OPEC cartel and allies. Some 80 to 89% of people around the world want their governments to do more to tackle the climate crisis, a survey across 125 countries interviewing 130,000 people suggested in 2024. This is a fact that Brazil, host of this year's U.N. climate conference, known as COP30—who I am now assisting as a special envoy—are well aware of as they prepare for a deal in Belem. I firmly believe COP30 will represent another step in the right direction, with over 190 countries signalling support for tougher climate action, delivering better climate plans and facilitating access to climate finance in times marked by austerity and cuts to overseas aid. Paris kickstarted the fourth industrial revolution. The gates are now open and they will not close. Only one country has ever quit a global climate deal: the U.S. which exited the Kyoto Protocol in 2001, and the Paris Agreement in 2016 and again in 2025. History tells us they won't be joined by others. As President Trump is finding out, it is easier to open negotiations than it is to close them. In 2015, we closed a great deal for the world. It took a monumental effort. But 10 years later that deal is still delivering.
