Lloyd’s has secured £650m in cover to protect its Central Fund against severe tail end events and adverse solvency developments. The new multi-layered cover will reimburse aggregate payments from the Central Fund in excess of £600m up to £1.25bn.

Aon’s proposed $35bn purchase of Willis Towers Watson is being challenged by US antitrust regulators, who say the proposed merger would eliminate competition and lead to higher prices and reduced innovation for customers in the US.

The Health and Safety Executive continues to carry out spot checks in businesses throughout the UK to ensure workplaces are COVID-secure. Employers found to fall short of the expected level of risk management may face action and even prosecution.

A poll among security professionals suggests that a large proportion of firms that have chosen to pay ransom demands go on to suffer a second attack – often at the hands of the same threat actor. In the UK, 84% of organisations that paid a ransom demand were hit again, with 61% reporting significant loss of revenue.

The UK Government has announced a four-week delay to Step 4 of its roadmap for the lifting of COVID-related restrictions. Step 3 restrictions remain in place, as concerns about the Delta variant of the virus were blamed for the cancellation of what many referred to as ‘Freedom Day’, when the last COVID restrictions were due to be lifted.

The total value of Europe’s 500 most valuable brands has dropped 10% during the COVID-19 pandemic from €1.96trn in 2020 to €1.76trn in 2021, according to a global study of brand value.