This article was produced in partnership with Aviva.
Gia Snape of Insurance Business spoke to members of Aviva’s North team about the company’s recent infrastructure investments in the region and how physical locations have brought its underwriters closer to brokers and clients, as well as talent.
Aviva’s North Mid-Market UK team, headed by Patrick Flannery (pictured directly below), has made strides to address regional needs and enhance responsiveness for their brokers and clients.
Covering a broad geography that spans northern England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland, Aviva’s North region has embraced a distinctive approach to local engagement and expansion to better serve this varied territory.
As Head of Region, Flannery shared insights on the scope of this transformation in an interview with Insurance Business. He emphasised that managing such a broad area means the Aviva team must stay in tune with each local market’s dynamics, competitive landscape, and challenges.
‘’In the North we see a high concentration of industrial & manufacturing risks but also are seeing greater growth of risks in the finance, creative and new technology sectors, ‘’ said Flannery
“We’ve deepened our expertise and capacity in these areas and developed specific arrangements for unique regional needs. Our focus remains on understanding and serving these distinctive markets, which are essential to us and our brokers.”
To deliver on this commitment, Aviva has strategically bolstered its office footprint, with new and improved offices in Glasgow and Newcastle adding to existing hubs across key cities like Leeds, Manchester, and Belfast which have also recently expanded in desk capacity.
Each office is staffed with a fully-fledged team and supported by clear leadership structures. The new and revamped offices underscore the importance of fostering relationships with brokers in close quarters, and it stands as a symbol of Aviva’s intent to reinforce its northern presence.
“Given our significant business footprint, we’re constantly working to improve service, response times, and authority levels, ensuring we deliver consistently for our brokers and their clients,” said Flannery. "There's still a perception among some brokers and customers that, post-COVID, everyone is mostly working from home and that offices have downsized. But that couldn’t be further from the truth.”
For Maureen Edgar (pictured directly below), branch manager of Scotland and Northern Ireland, opening the new Glasgow office has served as a personal passion project.
“Previously, we were based just outside the city, but being in the city centre is essential for staying close to our broker partners. We now have a fantastic city-centre office in the heart of Glasgow, surrounded by brokers, making collaboration much easier.”
According to Edgar, the new space allows Aviva’s teams—including distribution, sales, specialty lines—to work closely together and focus on delivering the best for customers. The Glasgow office has also been a significant boon for nurturing apprentices and new talent.
“We’ve expanded our Belfast office, bringing in two apprentices for the first time in years, which is crucial for training and developing local talent,” Edgar said. “Having this presence helps attract experienced underwriters who want to return to the business."
Similarly, the recently revamped Manchester office serves as a gathering point for the company’s teams, providing a collaborative atmosphere that improves service delivery and customer support.
Manchester branch manager Emily Moore (pictured directly below) shared that the team have been able to host both Aviva-sponsored and external events, such as networking opportunities with local organisations like BIBA, the CII and ICAN. This community-oriented approach has allowed Aviva to develop relationships in the region.
“Beyond Manchester, we cover a wide geographical area, including Cumbria and Merseyside, where we have underwriters aligned with brokers in that region,” Moore said. “We hosted a large networking event in Liverpool, bringing together brokers from across the region for an evening with our underwriters. The event was a great opportunity to connect with brokers in one concentrated area.”
There are also internal benefits to the Manchester office as a place for nurturing up-and-coming talent in the North West. “Recently, we brought together apprentices from across the North region for their initial induction program in Manchester, which has been a great way to build a local apprentice community,” Moore said.
Moore is proud of the wealth of technical experience within her region, with long-serving team members playing key roles in mentoring and developing new talent. Having underwriters based in these regions means a better understanding of the local market, brokers, and specific nuances of the area.
At the same time, the social aspect of Aviva’s work has taken centre stage. Edgar spoke enthusiastically about their successful broker charity event in Halloween in support of St. Andrew’s Hospice.
“It was fantastic to see most attendees dressed up, participating in the challenges, and contributing to the event, which raised £2,500 for charity,” said Edgar. “Events like these foster connections that are impossible to replicate over email.”
Other charity activities include a sponsored walk across the North region, charity quizzes, cake sales, and volunteering in the local community. Flannery affirmed a regional ambition for the North Mid-Market team to raise £150,000 for charity by the start of 2027.
“We've already raised £65,000 over the last 18 months,” he said. “It’s been a fantastic way to engage staff and promote well-being in our local communities. We also link these efforts with our broker partners.
In addition to enhancing accessibility for its brokers, Aviva’s local focus has made it possible for its regional teams to respond more adeptly to specific client needs.
Jonathan Craker (pictured directly below), branch manager across Leeds and Newcastle, said: "Our focus on responsiveness and visibility is driven by broker feedback, prioritising what matters most to them.”
The Newcastle office exemplifies this focus, he said. “The new state-of-the-art space has become a hub for broker meetings, and we’re planning a broker welcome event in the new year,” he said.
Local knowledge also plays a pivotal role in their underwriting, according to Craker. He shared an instance of a property in a flood-prone area where the team’s local knowledge helped Aviva develop a customised policy.
“We were able to conduct a thorough risk assessment, considering historical data, topography, and new flood defences. This enabled us to offer a tailored, competitive policy with additional risk mitigation advice, like flood barriers and emergency plans,” Craker explained.
“Putting the customer at the centre and leveraging our team’s expertise not only strengthens relationships with brokers and clients but demonstrates our commitment to truly understanding local markets."
This approach has also been invaluable when working on insurance policies for specific markets such as Scotland’s famous whiskey distilleries. An iconic industry, distilleries also present complex risks that require specialised management distinct from other industries.
“We work closely with risk advisors from the start, at points of build and expansion, to ensure distilleries invest wisely in necessary protections, using preferred suppliers as needed,” said Edgar.
Across Aviva’s North region, the team encounters a broad array of sector types, notably industrial, manufacturing, and motor trade, where Aviva has strengthened its knowledge appetite and capacity. Flannery noted that these markets, while not entirely unique to northern England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland, require a deeper understanding given the local context.
Responsiveness to local brokers and businesses has driven substantial changes in Aviva’s regional organisation. Recent structural adjustments have given underwriters the focus to address specific customer needs without being overwhelmed by competing priorities.
The reorganisation has also introduced an underwriting manager role within each branch, a high-licensed, senior team member who brings both authority and technical knowledge to their branch and is positioned to engage directly with clients.
‘’Across all our locations, ‘’ Flannery explained “the presence of an underwriting manager with high authority allows decisions to be made locally, on even some of the most complex cases. This local authority enables our underwriters to make swift decisions and trade efficiently, which has proven highly effective."
Another notable part of Aviva’s regional strategy is to employ underwriters who operate remotely in locations where Aviva lacks a formal office presence. In the North team’s case, it has team members based in locations such as Nottingham, Middlesborough and Cumbria.
By placing “genuine people on the ground,” these local underwriters can leverage their familiarity with the area, spending regular time in brokers’ offices to understand the local risks and challenges that clients face.
“Brokers value visibility and knowing exactly where to go for solutions, and our goal is for Aviva to be their first choice by being deeply embedded in and knowledgeable about the local market,” said Craker.
“Our underwriters in these regions understand the specific market nuances and local broker relationships,” added Moore.
This strategy has allowed Aviva to engage brokers and clients with more clarity and expertise, even in a region with such a large footprint. The goal is to increase Aviva’s share of clients’ business by focusing on speed, precision, and accessibility, reinforcing the company’s reputation for reliable service in the insurance industry.
Through these transformations and investments in infrastructure, Aviva has worked to achieve the delicate balance of regional autonomy and corporate alignment, as it seeks to be the first choice for brokers across northern England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.
