Max Taylor becomes non-executive director of European insurance operation.
Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance London Management (MSILM) has appointed former Biba chairman Max Taylor as non-executive director amid plans to rebrand and relocate.
MSILM chief executive Allan Guest this week said Taylor, currently a non-executive director of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, will join on 1 April.
Taylor has also worked as deputy chairman of Aon UK and executive director of Aon Global. He will replace current non-executive chairman Peter Foreman, who is retiring. Guest said the move was a planned succession.
By August, MSILM will have rebranded as Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Group Europe (MSIG Europe) as part of a global restructure of the group’s insurance operation, with Guest having recently been named chief executive.
As part of the restructure, holding company MSIG Holdings Japan has been created, controlling three divisions – Americas, Asia and Europe. MSIG Europe came into being on 11 February but the rebranding process is ongoing.
Guest said: “We are doing this to speed up decision-making and to develop the business into a more international-facing financial services group.”
Mitsui will move from 71 Fenchurch Street to Fenchurch Avenue to allow for expansion.
Guest said the group’s target for the year was to keep discipline in underwriting. He added that he had an open mind about hiring new underwriting teams.
Guest warned against the current trend of insurers buying brokers. He said: “There needs to be a vibrant market otherwise we will end up like France or Germany – fully reliant on tied agents.”
