News in brief
Ribbon cut at Manchester officeA new Manchester regional office opened for business on 2 January 2007. It completes Hiscox’s regional expansion and enables us to make decision-makers accessible, as well as differentiating ourselves from competitors through local understanding and superior service. The Manchester regional team will be responsible for developing and managing broker business throughout the northwest of England, which was previously handled by the Leeds office.
New regulation could save small financial services companies collectively more than £15 million a year. As part of the Companies Act 1985, small businesses do not have to have their accounts audited and can take advantage of simpler accounting and reporting requirements.
Despite qualifying for these exemptions, however, many companies regulated by the FSA had been prohibited from taking advantage of them. After the FSA undertook a study and found that the costs of the audits outweighed the benefits, they extended the exemption to nearly 5,000 small regulated companies. The regulations came into force in November.
In September, Hiscox plc confirmed that it was to introduce a new Bermudian domiciled holding for Hiscox Ltd. This was for several reasons. Firstly, it is closer to the US business, where the board expects major issues and risks to arise more frequently. Secondly, it demonstrates Hiscox’s commitment to our Bermuda and US businesses, and will lead to an increased flow of business from brokers active there. Finally, many of our competitors already enjoy the substantial potential tax benefits, which should improve the Group’s share price.
Hiscox recently changed the provider of Hiscox Security services from red24 to Control Risks Group for our home insurance policy holders. It’s all in aid of consolidating our third-party risk advice services to one provider, providing your clients with the best possible service.