After all, ever more of them are choosing to cut out middlemen and buy cover direct from insurers, or even to leave some risks uninsured.

ECONOMIST: Insurance broking

He made a string of lavish promises to cut child-care costs, guarantee kindergarten places, extend maternity and paternity leave and even hand out free fruit to schoolchildren.

ECONOMIST: An oil-rich country tilts leftwards

But despite losing out to their Norwegian rivals, Silk Cut finished just 63 minutes behind BrunelSunergy, to leave it in sixth place overall with two legs remaining.

BBC: Leg Seven: Dutch courage prevails