Covéa distribution boss joins Ecclesiastical

Ecclesiastical has appointed Chris Withers as underwriting development manager in the property investors division.

Withers joins Ecclesiastical from Covéa Insurance where he was head of distribution for commercial and real estate leader.

He had been with Covéa since early 2009, when MMA Insurance appointed him as trading manager. MMA and Provident Insurance merged in 2012 to form Covéa Insurance.

Prior to that Withers was the regional director of property investors at RSA.

Commenting on Wither’s appointment Ecclesiastical regional director for London and South East Kevin Simmons said: “Chris brings with him a huge amount of knowledge and experience of the London property investors market.

“His appointment as property investors development manager shows our commitment to this sector, and he will be working alongside Geoff Merriman, to increase our focus on this business from regional brokers.”

Covéa commercial lines and high net worth director Simon Cooter added: “Chris has been a popular and successful leader within the Covéa Insurance business during his seven years with us.

“We thank him for his contribution over that time and he has our very best wishes for the future.”

Covéa is currently undergoing a continued integration with Sterling, after the French insurer bought the company earlier this year.

As part of the integration Covéa has made a number of leadership appointments in its commercial lines and high net worth team.

James Guthrie is now responsible for distribution and broker development. Keith Hector leads regional operations.

Sara Simmons heads up the high and mid-net-worth team while Paul Hodgson leads commercial underwriting.