Insurance body ABI names Nicky Morgan new chair amid management shake up
Former MP Nicky Morgan has been appointed as the first independent chair of the Association of British Insurers (ABI), as the trade body overhauls its management.
Two more senior appointments were today announced by the ABI, whose members include Aviva and Axa, as part of reforms by the organisation to improve consumer trust in the industry by bringing “fresh external” perspectives.
Hannah Gurga, a managing director at UK Finance, will join the ABI as director general in the new year.
Baroness Dianne Hayter was appointed as an independent non-executive director. The former shadow deputy leader of the House of Lords will become the senior independent director on the ABI board.
The raft of new appointments to ABI’s leadership and board will provide “a wealth of experience from inside and outside of financial services,” said Barry O’Dwyer, ABI President and CEO of the mutual insurer Royal London.
The reforms come as part of a drive by the body, which brands itself as the “voice of insurance,” an industry it says contributes almost £30bn annually to the UK economy, to boost customer trust, enhance the sector’s reputation and tackle future risks such as climate change.
The appointments come around four months after the ABI first announced that it would recruit for an independent chair and independent non-executive director.
The trade body, which was set up in 1985 and is financed by member subscriptions, said the roles were aimed at “bringing fresh external perspectives, enriching diversity of experience and reinforcing strong governance.”
Both Morgan and Hayter’s roles will last three years from this month and will focus exclusively on internal activity and governance within the professional organisation while ABI’s deputy president, and Admiral Group UK chief executive, Cristina Nestares will continue as a public-facing leader.
“As consumer champions [both Morgan and Hayter] will be an independent voice for customers across the insurance and long-term savings sector,” said O’Dwyer.
Morgan, a former cabinet minister, will take over the reins from ABI chair Jon Dye, who has been in the role since July 2019.
Now a member of the House of Lords, she served as MP for Loughborough for nine years. A qualified solicitor, Morgan spent eight years as a corporate lawyer at Travers Smith LLP before moving into politics. The former secretary of state for digital, culture, media and sport is also a non-executive director of Santander UK and chairs the Advisory Board for Reform.
As the new independent chair, a role the ABI first announced in July this year, Morgan will chair the ABI board and the reputation and customers committee.
Hannah Gurga, the newly appointed director general of the ABI, will replace Huw Evans who announced earlier this year that he would be stepping down after six years in the role, to join accounting giant KPMG as a partner in January.
Having started her career in the civil service Gurga joined UK Finance, where she is currently the managing director for digital and chief of staff, in 2018.
Her appointment as director general will, O’Dwyer said, help the insurance body “deepen our work on climate change, do more to improve customer outcomes and seek to harness the digital revolution”.
“The external environment in which we’re operating is changing rapidly,” agreed Gurga, in a statement.
“It is vital that the ABI delivers across issues as varied as climate change, diversity and inclusion, resilience and the digital and data revolution,” she added.