Daily Market Update - February 24, 2015

Insurers lack talent required to succeed… SMB’s falling for cyber security myths… Revealed: Top 5 driving distractions…

Insurance News

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Insurers lack talent required to succeed
The insurance industry and the wider financial services sector is lacking the talent it needs. That’s according to a global study by PwC which found the 70 per cent of chief executives say that a lack of required skills is the biggest threat to the growth of their business. Across the whole financial sector more than half of bosses are intending to increase headcount in the next twelve months with more than three-quarters looking for a wider skill-set than they have previously. The most significant challenge is technology especially for insurers but also in the banking and asset management sectors. The respondents said that the industry struggles to attract talent due to an image problem with financial services lacking the trust of potential talent.
 
SMB’s falling for cyber security myths
Small and medium businesses could be risking a third of their revenue by falling for some of the most common misconceptions about cyber security. A report from the UK government found that a quarter of smaller businesses believe that cyber defenses are expensive and a fifth say they “don’t know where to start”. The poll of 1000 businesses found that more of them are using web-based services but many are not using strong passwords or keeping software up to date, for example with the latest security updates. Another misconception among business owners was that they are only at risk if they deal with online payments whereas any internet-connected computer or network could be a target for hackers and even those not online could be compromised internally. The report estimates that a cyber attack could put a small business out of operation for up to 10 days, causing a major impact on revenue.
 
Revealed: Top 5 driving distractions
We’d all like to believe that we’re great drivers that are not easily distracted but a new poll reveals that isn’t the case. The study by insurance firm Allianz has found that 47 per cent of drivers who smoke behind the wheel admit that it sometimes distracts them. More than two-thirds of those polled said it does affect attention levels and 52 per cent are in favor of a total ban on smoking in cars. However smoking isn’t the most distracting by a long way. It ranks third in the top 5 biggest distractions for drivers (at 34 per cent) ahead of eating (33 per cent) and loud passengers (19 per cent). Adjusting the radio or sound system is second (52 per cent) but by far the biggest distraction for motorists is using a mobile phone (82 per cent). 


 

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