Biq Question- what will Amanda Blanc bring to Zurich?

Howard Lickens, chief executive of The Clear Group

Amanda is a very strong effective leader who made a difference at AXA and is likely to do so again at Zurich.

Her spell on the broking side of the fence could well be of great value as, great brand though they are, Zurich has struggled to punch their weight in the SME sector which has been AXA’s bread and butter. Also, how refreshing to have two women driving a top insurer forward.

Sian Fisher, chief executive of the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII), said:

Whether it is Floods, Whiplash or Brexit, Amanda has shown herself to be a driven, decisive and conscious leader in the Insurance Profession. When she was President of the Chartered Insurance Institute she put her full weight behind our Royal Charter commitment to standards and professionalism and ensured that her own company, AXA, achieved Corporate Chartered status for all of its major divisions.

I personally witnessed an example of her leadership, when she instantly and enthusiastically embraced training for all of her UK customer-facing staff as “Dementia Friends” through the Alzheimer’s Society scheme. We are delighted that she is continuing her career at another Corporate Chartered firm, Zurich, and we wish her every success.

Penny Searles, chief executive of Smartdriverclub:

Amanda leads the team from within. This may sound trite, but it should not be underestimated in how it empowers people to succeed and enhance their skills. Openness and transparency are needed at the top of a mammoth like AXA or Zurich and it’s rare to find a CEO who openly encourages that culture and stands by it and their team when things get tough. Experience at every level also helps if you’ve been there and got the t-shirt! Then the team trust your knowledge and experience. And of course, it’s great to see a woman lead the industry! Zurich is lucky to have Amanda on board.

Andy Fairchild, Broker Network’s chief executive

Aside from the obvious qualities of leadership, strategic insight and driven execution, I think we should expect a revived Zurich getting closer to the customer with more local decision making.

In the UK I’m sure we’ll see a renewed focus on the SME communities in the heartland of our economy, and the SME Brokers who serve these communities so well. AXA has taken a strong position here, which I’m sure will continue, but all in all, this is a defining hire for Zurich.

Peter Blanc, chief executive of Aston Lark

Amanda completely “gets” what UK brokers want and need from their insurers and will make sure that Zurich delivers it.

When running AXA, Amanda made things happen - if we agreed to do something, change something or focus on something her team were normally lined up ready and waiting.

I expect that she’ll bring that same focus to Zurich. They’re already a great insurer but wouldn’t be first on the list of fast-growing new business markets - I think Amanda will change that and help them to realise their potential by driving that focus on what brokers want and need for their customers.

Should be exciting!!

Paul Anscombe, chief executive, The Seventeen Group

Amanda Blanc’s move to Zurich is a fascinating one. It is hard to say at this stage what the precise impact will be on Zurich in the UK given the EMEA role that Amanda has taken but she has huge knowledge of the UK market and firm views on retail broking plus the need for insurers and brokers to build digital capability.

Zurich has historically been a leading player in the UK on major corporate risks and enjoys very strong relationships with brokers in this space but was perhaps slow ‘to the party’ on SME compared to Axa and Aviva. I am especially interested to see whether Amanda’s presence on the Executive Committee will lead to a change of focus within client segmentation and distribution for Zurich.