Insurance in 2025: a sector rebounding amid rising expectations
Despite economic concerns and high cost-of-living anxiety (84%), public sentiment toward insurers is improving. Positive perceptions have grown, while views of insurers as “inconvenient” have declined. Claims are rising—especially in Germany and Spain—pressuring insurers. Yet, interest in innovative models like embedded and usage-based insurance is climbing.
Younger demographics now see insurance as diverse and exciting. However, loyalty remains fragile, with 40% considering switching. Customer service quality and data privacy trust remain vital. While known brands still lead, brokers and peer influence are gaining. To thrive, insurers must innovate, enhance digital services, and deepen trust through transparency and reliability.
Google warns US retailers as scattered spider hackers shift focus
Google has warned that US retailers are now in the crosshairs of Scattered Spider, a group tied to recent cyberattacks on UK retailers, including M&S. The group, known for its sector-specific targeting and ability to bypass advanced security systems, accessed M&S customer data—names, addresses, and order histories—though payment details remain secure.
Scattered Spider has a history of high-profile attacks, including breaches at MGM and Caesars in 2023. Google’s cybersecurity team urges US retailers to prepare, as law enforcement faces challenges in stopping the decentralised and elusive hacker network, whose members are often young and highly adaptive.
Hybrid work fails to bridge the UK’s regional divide, Study Finds
New research reveals that hybrid working has not led to a mass relocation of high-skilled professionals to struggling UK regions, as was once hoped. While 52% of UK workers never work from home, just 29% of highly skilled workers do so fully, with most hybrid workers still tied to city centre offices.
This limits geographic mobility and reinforces regional inequality. The report urges policymakers to promote hybrid hubs in second-tier cities. Despite its benefits, valued at an 8% pay rise, experts warn that hybrid work must be better leveraged to address local economic challenges and prevent deepening inequalities.