L&G GI head Diane Buckley exits amid restructure

Legal & General (L&G)’s general insurance managing director Diane Buckley is leaving the company at the end of the year amid continuing restructuring, Insurance Times has learned.

The changes follow the announcement in October that Legal & General was putting 600 jobs at risk as part of the restructuring it revealed back in June.

Under this latest round of restructuring, Legal & General Insurance Services (LGAS), which incorporates the group’s life, pensions, savings and general insurance businesses, has been divided into three divisions.

LGAS Insurance will be led by executive managing director Duncan Finch, LGAS Corporate will be run by executive managing director Jim Islam, and LGAS Retail Savings will be run by executive managing director Mike Bury.

The change brings together the three insurance businesses– general insurance, network and retail protection – under Finch.

L&G said in a statement: “Duncan Finch will work closely with the managing directors of the current business areas, Diane Buckley and Duncan Crocker, to ensure a smooth transition to the new business model.”

However, it added: “After a long, fulfilling and very successful career with Legal & General, Diane Buckley has decided that the recent restructuring programme within the business provides an opportunity for her to move into a new stage of her career.”

Buckley took the reins of the general insurance business in January this year following a management reshuffle.

She took the general insurance role from Finch, who moved over to head up L&G’s retail protection division.

Before the reshuffle, Buckley was managing director of group protection at L&G.