NIG confirms commercial and regional underwriting roles

NIG has appointed Martin Hall as director of commercial underwriting.

Hall will be responsible for all aspects of commercial underwriting through NIG’s broker channel. He replaces Steve Kingshott, who joined RSA in June.

At the same time, NIG has appointed Steve Symonds as head of regional underwriting, following the restructure of its regional network.

Hall joined RBS Insurance in 2007 as director of home underwriting across all RBS insurance brands, having previously spent six years at Zurich Financial Services.

Hall said: “I am delighted to have accepted this opportunity which comes at an exciting time for our commercial business. We have a hugely dedicated team of underwriters within NIG that are well respected in the market, and the programme to deliver a network of regional centres of Underwriting Excellence is well underway.”

Jon Greenwood, managing director, commercial and broker, RBS Insurance added: “Martin brings fresh insight to the team and many years of experience leading underwriting and pricing teams in the broker and direct channels. He joins a very strong commercial and broker leadership team that is well placed to take NIG forward and help us deliver our growth ambitions via the broker channel.”

New regional head

New regional underwriting boss Symonds will be responsible for all aspects of underwriting and service delivery to the broker market from NIG’s seven regional underwriting centres of excellence as well as NIG’s agricultural business centre, based in Gloucester.

The position, which is new to NIG, will see Symonds play a key role in driving forward improvements in business performance from the recent restructure.

Symonds has over 35 years experience working in the UK insurance industry. He joined NIG at the beginning of 2004 and prior to the new appointment, was area manager for the West covering both sales and underwriting.