Throwback Thursday: CII card woes; Hiscox grows
Insurance Post’s Throwback Thursday steps back in time to May 1990 to remind you what was going on this week in insurance history: the Chartered Insurance Institute was suffering card woes, Hiscox was growing and Sun Alliance increased its stake in personal lines.
17 May 1990: CII card in doubt
Before you think, that was very modern of the Chartered Insurance Institute ditching plastic membership cards back in 1990, the card in question was an affinity credit card.
Post reported plans to launch an affinity credit card were shelved at the last minute after doubts were raised about the CII’s powers to become a credit broker.
The hitch was spotted only when the final contract between the CII and Transactional, the card managers, was vetted by the institute’s solicitors who warned the body’s Royal Charter may prevent it from entering this area.
Hiscox offshoot to deal direct
Lloyd’s managing agent Roberts & Hiscox set up a new company, Hiscox Insurance Agency, specifically to market a personal lines product that will be sold directly to provincial brokers.
Sun Alliance increases stake in Swinton
A further 19% of Swinton Holdings chain of 630 personal lines outlets was acquired by Sun Alliance for £31.7m, lifting its stake to 49%. Sun Alliance merged with Royal Insurance in 1996 to form RSA.
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