This article was produced with Aviva UK.
Gia Snape of Insurance Business sat down with Aviva’s London and South East team to discuss their turnaround in the region, their approach to local risks and broker engagement, and what broker partners can expect as the team pursues growth.
When it comes to navigating the complex and fast-paced insurance landscape of London and the South East, Aviva's regional teams have developed a high level of expertise and responsiveness.
Led by experienced industry professionals, these teams have spearheaded a remarkable turnaround, transforming the business into a growth engine for Aviva's mid-market operations.
“Five years ago, the London and South East business wasn’t growing or meeting profit expectations,” said Jake Algar (pictured below), head of Aviva's London and South East region. “Through strategic recruitment and aligning capabilities with brokers, we've achieved four consecutive years of double-digit growth.”
Between the highly competitive, complex London market and the more geographically diverse, relationship-driven South East market, Aviva is tailoring its approach and organisational structure to best serve the unique needs of brokers and clients in that part of the country.
As the London and South East teams continue to drive growth and profitability, brokers can expect to see an even stronger focus on local knowledge, responsiveness, and collaborative partnerships this year and beyond.
According to Algar, the remarkable growth in the London and South East region has been fuelled by the Aviva team's deep understanding of the unique characteristics and evolving needs of their markets.
In London, for example, the team faces a highly competitive environment, with brokers in close proximity and requiring quick turnaround times. To address this, Aviva has equipped its London branch with a high level of underwriting authority combined with major office presence and expansion of headcount to support brokers and customers
For Connor Henderson (pictured below), who runs Aviva's London branch, this visibility has been key to their success.
“London offers a unique advantage with its broker density, and we’re committed to being present,” Henderson said. “With so many brokers within a square mile of our new building, we want to maximise opportunities by ensuring our underwriters are active in the market and available to brokers and customers.”
The London branch handles a wide variety of specialised risks and businesses, such as complex property arrangements, including property investors business, construction and standalone casualty business amongst other segments.
“In London, we handle a variety of specialised risks on a daily basis, often with high accumulation challenges, non-standard wordings as well as large scale portfolios of business,” Henderson said. “Ensuring the right expertise and internal collaboration is key”.
Henderson highlighted a nimble approach to the London market. “Everyone is on your doorstep, and the market is highly competitive.”
“Opportunities move fast, and staying agile is crucial.”
“Proximity makes it easier to build relationships, stay informed, and respond quickly to shifts in capacity or reinsurance changes, which often begin in London. Being slow to adapt here can be detrimental.”
This local expertise is equally crucial in the South East, where the team's approach is tailored to the diverse needs of brokers and clients across a broad geographical area, from Norfolk down to the South Coast and up to the Thames Valley area.
Alison Coleman (pictured below), who heads the South East branch, said the team is focused on bolstering its local presence beyond its three physical locations (Southampton, Chelmsford, and Norwich) to be closer to brokers.
What sets the South East branch apart is its "end-to-end" model, where teams manage both new and existing business. This approach leverages their strengths, fostering stronger broker relationships and ensuring a seamless customer experience.
That means a need to be agile and responsive to the varying needs of different broker types, from large national firms to small local ones, she added.
The South East underwriting teams are also deeply entrenched in local markets and their distinct risks. “A Norwich-based underwriter, for example, understands how drainage boards mitigate flooding, while those in Suffolk are well-versed in costal inundation,” Algar explained.
“In Essex, our risk engineers specialise in flood management for the Lea Valley. Brighton and Hove come with their own historic construction quirks, such as Bungaroosh, along with coastal flood risks.
“This local expertise allows us to offer tailored solutions, ensuring we are able to address the specific challenges brokers and customers face. We also share knowledge across regions—so if a client expands from the Thames Valley to North Norfolk or Kent, we factor in the unique risks of that new location. Our deep understanding of regional complexities helps us deliver the best possible underwriting outcomes.”
This commitment to local expertise and relationships has been a key driver of Aviva's success in the London and South East markets.
As the team looks ahead, they are focused on further enhancing their visibility and accessibility to brokers, investing in talent acquisition and continuing to embed technological capabilities that will improve efficiency and responsiveness.
"We continue to stay close to our brokers.”. Increased visibility will be something that they will experience in various ways," said Algar. "Our team will be more contactable and more visible than we ever have been in the past."
To facilitate this increased interaction, the team plans to leverage a variety of initiatives, including face-to-face meetings, specialised training sessions, and even hosting "speed-dating" style events with brokers, which will provide opportunity for quick, focussed, one on one conversations.
“We are passionate about including experts across our proposition in our broker engagement which will include sales & distribution, claims personnel, and client relationship managers and risk management teams on larger risks. This helps convey the breadth of our appetite,” said Coleman.
This regional strategy is built upon a substantial foundation of industry knowledge and expertise, refined over many years. Algar, Coleman, and Henderson collectively bring approximately 75 years of insurance career experience to the table. Additionally, the London and South East region benefits from the leadership of Buland Singh (South East) and David Cook (London) as Underwriting Managers for their respective branches.
Finally, technology plays a crucial role in the region’s growth plans. New tools improve efficiency, enabling faster quotes, better data analysis, and clearer insights into underinsurance for brokers and customers.
“Leveraging these advancements will be essential in addressing our challenges and achieving our goals this year,” Algar concluded.
“We have great people and a commitment to be local,” said Henderson. “And whilst we're a very large organisation, we are ready to tailor individual insurance solutions for our brokers and their clients.”
