Arch Insurance UK Regional Division has announced a number of key appointments for its Bristol team, including the promotion of Julie Collins to Branch Manager of the office, with immediate effect.
Additionally, Ruth Hitchcox has been named as the National Production Improvement Lead, while Stuart Hawker joins as Broker Development Relationship Manager.
In her new role, Collins’ remit take on responsibility for managing all aspects of the day-to-day operations of the Bristol office, overseeing the 13-strong team, while enhancing support for broker partners and delivering on the firm’s growth plans for the South-West region. She will report to Neil Peters, National Director of Branch Network.
Collins is a market veteran and brings over three decades of experience to the position. Previously, she served as Broker Relationship Development Manager for Bristol and Transformation Support Manager at Arch. Throughout her career, she has worked at Covéa Insurance, Arista Insurance, and NIG Insurance.
Collins succeeds Hitchcox, who has been appointed as the National Production Improvement Lead. In this role, she is responsible for delivering performance enhancements and driving process efficiencies across the branch network. Hitchcox was Branch Manager in Bristol since 2019, and joined from Fusion where she was previously the Regional Operations Manager.
Hawker takes on his new role as the Broker Relationship Development Manager within the Bristol office after joining from Allianz, where he spent over 14 years, most recently as Business Development Manager.
Peters commented on the new appointments: “Julie is a highly respected and experienced insurance practitioner. She has an outstanding reputation with our broker partners and will continue to build on the success that Ruth has helped us to achieve over the last five years. I am delighted that Ruth is taking on this new role as we look to drive efficiency and further enhance our ability to serve our brokers. The South-West is a key region for Arch, we have recently invested in new premises and are continuing to grow our presence, including hiring top-level talent such as Stuart Hawker.”
