Siân Barton
Editor, Insurance Age
Siân joined Insurance Age as commissioning editor in 2014 and prior to this worked on a range of B2B titles covering topics including recycling, the co-operative movement and health and social care.
After a stint as deputy editor she was promoted to editor in 2018. During that year she also joined, alongside a set of intrepid insurance professionals, the InsureTrek which saw the group hike the Mont Blanc Massif and raise more than £100,000 for Insurance United Against Dementia.
In 2020 Siân was the recipient of the British Insurance Brokers’ Association Journalist of the Year award while Insurance Age took the trophy for Publication of the Year. She also won Profile of the Year.
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Articles by Siân Barton
Directors of bust Staveley Head paid themselves £600k in 2019
Ashley Peters and Martin Tyler also reorganised the collapsed firm and its share capital. As part of the reorganisation, it became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Gelert Group and a £2m dividend was paid to Gelert. Policy Plan also paid £8m to Gelert.
David Ross, CEO of Ardonagh Group - Taking on the world
Profile: David Ross, Ardonagh CEO, tells Insurance Age why he’s a lucky man and reveals his hopes for the group as he puts the challenges of the past five years behind him
Karen Beales joins LEI specialist Financial & Legal
Beales was formerly CEO at UK General but stepped down in 2018.
Editor's letter - February 2020
Moving forward: After Brexit hysteria has waned, the industry has other pressing issues to tackle
GRP retains hub focus following Searchlight deal
The investment will help GRP continue to buy UK brokers according to newly promoted Mike Bruce.
Searchlight Capital Partners takes majority stake in GRP
The deal sees founders Peter Cullum and David Margrett retain a minority stake in the company alongside Penta Capital.
Ardonagh eyes international growth
David Ross reveals expansion hopes and confirms more M&A targets in the UK.
H&R Insurance Services buys APL Insurance Services
The deal was for an undisclosed sum and concluded at the end of 2019.
Les Brewin to exit Marsh-owned Purple
As Brewin is set to retire no replacement has been announced for the network which became part of Marsh following its 2015 Jelf acquisition.
Andy Fairchild leaves Jensten Group
The former Broker Network CEO joined Jensten (formerly Coversure) in July last year.
FCA appoints interim CEO
Current incumbent Andrew Bailey joins the Bank of England as governor on 16 March.
Lloyd’s appoints whistleblowing champion
Angela Crawford-Ingle has joined the board of the Audit Committee as Bruce Carnegie-Brown says Lloyd’s is committed to encouraging an open culture.
Wentworth Alexander swaps SSP for Applied Epic
The business is planning to create a self-service portal and mobile apps for staff and customers.
Ecclesiastical launches wellbeing guidance
Head Lines: The provider has produced a series of videos to help brokers manage stress.
Claims inflation continues to bite at Hastings
Trading update reveals provider has restated its operating profit from £125m to £110m – a drop of 12%.
The Blog Spot: Kicking things off
Editor, Siân Barton, considers how the insurance space has launched into 2020 and looks back to a thread from 2019 that should be picked up again this year.
MCL restructures Irish operation amid Brexit uncertainty
Motor broker MCL relocates and registers Irish operation to Swords, Dublin to enable it to continue trading as normal following UK’s EU exit.
Former RSA boss Steve Lewis joins Pro Global
Lewis left RSA in February 2019 and joins as CEO of the outsourcing and consulting specialist next month.
Beazley places UK regional marine book in run-off
Decision could result in a small number of redundancies as the insurer pointed to pressure and low margins in the sector.
Lifesure moves into commercial with fresh broker launch
Barnes Commercial Insurance Broker has been set up by the firm as a separate business to focus on medium-sized SMEs and professions.
Strategy reform reveals FCA data drive
The watchdog wants to use automation to deepen understanding of markets but has been warned against developing an over-simplified view of the market.
Amanda Blanc’s latest role announced
The former Axa UK boss has joined claims insurtech RightIndem as non-executive chair of the board.