Backchat: September 2026

Pedal power

Premium finance provider Premium Credit is gearing up for yet another physical fundraising exertion this month (September 2026) as 12 employees prepare to cycle 300 miles in three days to raise money for UK dementia charity Alzheimer’s Society.

The route, which is being taken on by chief sales officer Owen Thomas and chief commercial officer Jon Howells to name a few, spans Premium Credit’s office locations – with cyclists starting in Leatherhead and crossing the finish line in Dublin.

The ambitious bike ride marks the third fundraising event Premium Credit has completed this year in support of Alzheimer’s Society. The company’s divisional head of partnerships for SME and eTrade, Claudia Knight, ran the London Marathon back in April 2026, for example. Plus, Knight and Thomas were joined by brand, marketing and sustainability director Adam Morghem to hike 75km across Romania earlier in the year too.

This barrage of physical challenges has so far raised £11,811.48, according to Premium Credit’s JustGiving page at the time of writing.

Best of luck with the gruelling cycle ride!

Listen up

Are you interested in the nuances and trends impacting the global cyber insurance landscape? Then make sure to tune in to a brand new podcast launching in Q4 this year, entitled The Cyber Insurance Podcast.

Hosted by David Benyon – the editor of Insurance Times’ sister title Global Reinsurance – the cyber-centric podcast is designed to run alongside Benyon’s already established podcast, The Political Risk Podcast, which publishes episodes twice monthly.

Benyon explained that his newest podcast aims ”to provide market leading thought leadership insights into the cyber risk and insurance landscape” through exclusive conversations with ”cyber risk underwriters, brokers, execs and experts”. Topics he plans to cover include cyber resilience, risk transfer, retail and wholesale correlations, cyber reinsurance and emerging markets worldwide.

Saying goodbye

Insurance Times is saddened to hear that Tony Parker, co-founder and director at Panacea Brokers – a commercial lines and high net worth brokerage based in London – passed away in August 2026 following a brain tumour. 

The news was announced on LinkedIn by Parker’s daughter, Emma Parker, who also works in the insurance industry as a business development executive at Gallagher.

Parker’s funeral and wake is scheduled for 4 September 2026 in Colchester, with the event also being live streamed for those unable to attend in person.

The family confirmed an unusual dress code request in the LinkedIn post: ”Dad wished that everyone attending wear something navy blue. It doesn’t have to be a full outfit – he didn’t want to make everyone wear Millwall shirts, so this was his compromise.”

Our thoughts are with Parker’s family during this difficult time.

Broker birthday

It is time to throw the confetti as Scotland-based, family-owned commercial broker EG Murray celebrated its 50th anniversary last month (August 2026).

The business was launched in 1976 by Edward Gerald Murray, who first set up shop in Lanarkshire’s Airdrie. He opted to launch his own broking business after a two-year placement in Canada with Commercial Union went awry, with subsequent associated jobs back on home turf not fit for purpose post-placement, in Murray’s view.

The birthday celebration is all the more special since Murray’s son, Antony Murray, joined the business 21 years ago – he became managing director in March 2026 after working his way up the corporate ranks from office manager in 2005 to commercial insurance manager in 2013, before taking on the MD leadership role.