In the final instalment of our review of the year, we look back on a quarter in which Health & Protection held its second annual Awards ceremony, Liz Truss resigned after a chaotic six weeks as prime minister, Canada Life exited the individual protection market and Gallagher announced a multi million dollar deal to buy rival Buck.
October
As the final quarter of the year kicked off, the winners of the UK Health & Protection Awards 2022 were announced at a glittering ceremony at the London Hilton Park Lane.
More than 700 advisers, insurers and other representatives gathered together to celebrate and recognise the industry’s achievements.
The month also saw Liz Truss resign as prime minister and leader of the Conservative party after just 44 chaotic days in office – the shortest term on record at Westminster.
Truss was succeeded by former chancellor Rishi Sunak whose appointment raised hopes among advisers that markets would be reassured and in turn have a positive impact on protection and health insurance sectors.
November
November includes Movember and to mark the month, Health & Protection spoke to Dean Nulty, IT service delivery manager at Zurich, who told us about being diagnosed with prostate cancer on his birthday, why men should not take their health for granted and the importance of having a supportive employer.
November also saw Canada Life close its individual protection business to new applications immediately.
The insurer said its decision to leave the UK individual protection market was taken following a review of the business and to focus on other areas where it could achieve market scale.
December
As the year came to a close, Sheun Oke, area sales manager at Wealthmax Financial Advisers, called on the UK protection insurance sector to design life, critical illness and income protection products to cater for the needs of individuals with sickle cell.
Oke told Health & Protection that the industry needed to live up to its talk about supporting more diverse communities by tackling the long-standing issue.
Also touching on the subject of diversity, in an exclusive interview with Health & Protection, Debbie Kennedy, chief executive of LifeSearch, said creating a more diverse protection industry is about fixing the room, not women, with more allyship and support from men and leaders needed.
And to end the month Arthur J. Gallagher & Co revealed it had reached agreement to buy rival HR and employee benefits consultancy Buck in a $585m (£481m) deal, along with deals for firms in Minnesota and Brazil.
