Aviva expands GCS business in search of multinational growth

Aviva’s Global Corporate and Specialty (GCS) business has launched a new global service proposition intended to allow it to diversify internationally and accelerate the growth of its multinational and delegated underwriting authority (DUA) business.

The insurer plans to combine its DUA and multinational business offerings and said it would launch a refreshed proposition for captive insurance later in the year. 

Aviva director of multinational Belinda Steedman said: “This move signals to the market that Aviva is serious about supporting its clients across the globe, particularly against the backdrop of an evolving risk landscape.”

Its multinational service provides insurance to firms that have operations stretching across the globe, where insurance needs differ because of necessity or jurisdictions.

The announcement of the new service, to be led by Steedman, follows the insurer’s recent acquisition of Lloyd’s platform and syndicate Probitas, which provided it with access to the Lloyd’s market, international licences and broader distribution networks that will support an expansion of its multinational proposition.

However, the size of Aviva’s multinational business is already significant and writes £130m gross written premium (GWP) annually via a partner network that covers 150 territories and 95% of the world’s gross domestic product.

Aviva said that it had been, in recent years, “laying the foundations” to support its multinational growth by ensuring it had partners in all key territories and “re-engineering ways of working” to deliver better service for brokers and customers.

Restructure

As part of its ambition to grow its multinational insurance provision, Aviva has restructured its multinational team.

Steedman explained: “We’re bolstering our talent pool by bringing in new roles and capability to complement an already experienced team.”

Liam Bright, the new head of global network partnerships, will lead the existing network team from 16 September 2024 and focus on building the insurer’s global network partnership proposition.

Chrys Katramados, head of global service for multinationals and DUAs, will lead the multinational hub. The new appointee will also create a new DUA hub to support the niche service requirements of managing delegated arrangements.

Laura Harrison, captives manager, started on 15 July from QBE, with the mandate to design and implement a captive fronting framework for both global and UK captives.

Meanwhile, Brandon Akem will focus on the regulatory compliance and governance structures that support all global business placements as the firm’s new head of global assurance.

Wing Yau, strategic insights manager, will, on the other hand, become responsible for building the data and insights needed to power the firm’s growth ambitions.

Lastly, Richard Driver will be tasked with leading the transformation activity undertaken across multinationals and DUA as the firm’s strategic product owner.

“Our ambition is to be one of the top global carriers in the market, with a broad product offering and we’ll continue working hard to achieve this,” Steedman said.