There is a new managing director at UK insurance giant Legal & General, as Chris Knight steps in to head up the company’s £1 billion retail customer division.
Knight has been named managing director of the company’s retirement, retail customer division, a role he will move into as of March 01. The division is highly successful for the firm with individual annuity sales rising by 15% in 2016 compared to 2015 and now boasting £20 billion in assets with 500,000 individual annuity customers.
The aim now is for Knight to further grow the division and also target annuity back book deals with the company also looking to go international – the US market is seen as a key focus.
“I am very excited to be taking on the challenge of further developing our retail retirement business. Legal & General Home Finance has the potential to become a major force in the UK Mortgage market, expanding the range of our borrowing-in-retirement propositions,” commented Knight. “In the era of Pension Freedoms, individual annuities are growing strongly again and there are further front-book and back-book opportunities in the UK.”
Knight has been with Legal & General since 2009, latterly as CFO of Legal & General Retirement. He is a qualified actuary with a first class degree in Economics from Cambridge University, and has extensive experience in the UK and global insurance and pensions markets. He replaces Bernie Hickman, who became CEO of Legal & General Insurance, at the end of last year.
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