UK insurance companies take a hit

Lloyd's of London has today confirmed that a number of natural disasters as well as the BP oil rig debacle in the Gulf of Mexico have resulted in significant losses for insurers around the world. UK insurance companies have taken their fair share of multimillion pound hits over the last 12 months although many believe that ultimately an increase in regulations and the need to tighten current insurance policies could result in more business for the UK insurance sector in due course.

When you take into account the economic downturn over the last three or four years, what seems to be natural disaster after natural disaster and a number of man-made disasters, there is no doubt that the insurance sector has been under pressure. However, ultimately it is always the customer which bails out the insurance sector and this time will be no different with corporate premiums likely to increase significantly in the short to medium term.

Insurance premiums for UK consumers are also set to increase in the short to medium term, as the long-term trend continues, with car insurance one of the major issues amongst the UK public. It seems that legitimate and fully insured car drivers are paying the costs associated with uninsured drivers but is this really fair?