Daily briefing: Tuesday

The latest chairman hunt is underway. As Aviva gets ready to announce the appointment of its new chairman (it could be this week according to the latest reports), RSA has got its own search underway.

John Napier, like his Aviva counterpart Lord Sharman, has steered the company through challenging times. As his tenure comes to an end in 2012, ambitious RSA group chief executive Andy Haste will be looking to add someone with vast experience and direction to join him.

City headhunter Anna Mann of MWM Consulting is on the case. But the pool of potential replacements is already shrinking. Some well-respected City figures have landed on the boards of insurance firms in recent weeks.Lloyds appointed Hammerson chairman John Nelson to replace Lord Levene and Towergate swooped for Admiral chairman Alistair Lyons as Peter Cullum’s successor.

City grandees John Varley, the former chief executive of Barclays, and Clara Furse, the former chief executive of the London Stock Exchange have been suggested as contenders for the RSA chairman seat. RSA appears to have raised the bar high at this early stage and expect it to pull no punches.

The main contender for the Aviva role is understood to be Barclays deputy chairman Sir Richard Broadbent. Already potential synergies are occurring. The two insurers have history, after RSA’s audacious bid to acquire Aviva’s general insurance businesses. So speculation is likely to surround the potential of a new deal occurring once the new chairman are in place.

RSA is unlikely to rush the decision, however. It has time on its hands and is also looking for new non-executive directors. The way it re-shapes its board will be crucial to maintaining investor confidence.

More Solvency II woe

Today has also seen more criticism in the countdown to Solvency II implementation. In a stinging attack on the finalisation of Omnibus 2 – which proposes changes to how rules and standards will be formulated under Solvency II - KPMG warned further delays will have a negative impact for the insurance industry.

It’s another stark warning in direction of the EU Commission that insurers and regulatory bodies alike will not be ready for the implementation of Solvency II on 1 January 2013. As KPMG points out, there is along way to go down the Solvency II timeline, and the industry appears to have been left well and truly in the dark.

Adams in at Hastings

Also catching the eye today was the appointment of former Helphire chief executive Mark Adams as chief financial officer at Hastings Direct. With Hastings targeting an IPO in 2012, it will be looking to the former boss of the troubled accident management firm to help steer it on the right course.