Broker aims for 'national presence' in restructure
Alexander Forbes Professions (AFP) has restructured its national operations, poaching two FirstCity executives to spearhead its growth.
Neville Miles, who has been appointed as managing director of AFP Risk Solutions, will focus on professional indemnity and mid-market business.
Simon Fitzgerald, who also joins from FirstCity, will become executive director of AFP Network and Direct. The division will target volume business and manage wholesale and client relationships.
An International and Speciality division has been created to focus on special risks and overseas clients.
The restructure comes after newly-established professional indemnity (PI) broker Prime Professions successfully poached a team of 16 from AFP in November.
John Percy Davis, Alexander Forbes' International Risk Services chairman, said the appointment of Miles and Fitzgerald was an essential part of the broker's restructure.
He said: "The key is that you want people who are known in the industry. This is a reinforcement of client confidence."
James Houlder, AFP managing director, told Insurance Times the new structure would offer a "national presence rather than a regional presence".
He added: "We didn't want to have a knee-jerk reaction to the team moving on, so we consulted with clients to see how we could fill those gaps."
Sitting across the three divisions will be five speciality teams.
The teams will work within each division specialising in PI for solicitors, accountants, construction surveyors, emerging professions and insurance brokers.
"These will have a detailed understanding of the client, with specialist industry knowledge," Percy Davis said.
Forbes' new look
AFP Risk Solutions
Target audience: major and mid-market clients
Management: Neville Miles (managing director)
AFP Network and Direct
Target audience: wholesale and client relationships
Management: Gary Horsewell (managing director), Simon Fitzgerald (executive director)
International and Speciality
Target Audience: special risks and clients based overseas
Management: James Houlder (AFP managing director)
