People who are able work from home have this morning been advised to do so, in a change to the Government's call in July for more staff to return to COVID Secure workplaces. In a response to the recent rise in the number of coronavirus cases, the move is part of plan to avert "more serious action" later.

Insurance buyers' dissatisfaction goes beyond hard market prices, an Airmic study has revealed, with two thirds of respondents to the association's survey having suffered poor and late communication from insurance partners, and 70% either using or considering setting up a captive. One fifth of respondents saw D&O rate rises of more than 400%.

As the country faces a second spike in the coronavirus, crisis management teams have been urged to look after themselves so that they are fit to look after their organisations. Speaking to press on the first day of Airmic's annual conference, deputy CEO and technical director of the risk association, Julia Graham, said the second spike comes at a time when businesses are still trying to recover from the first.

As companies react to the ongoing challenges relating to the coronavirus pandemic, Airmic and Aon have published a guide to the key risk, insurance and human capital factors that risk professionals should consider as part of mergers and acquisitions.

Local lockdowns in the North of England and the Midlands do not mean that coronavirus is "someone else's problem" and that care to stop the spread of the virus should not be taken elsewhere. This was the message from Professor Chris Whitty, who this morning confirmed that cases are doubling every 7 days.

Patrick Tiernan, managing director of UK Commercial Lines & Global Corporate & Specialty at Aviva, has been elected chairman of the International Underwriting Association.