The Association of British Insurers (ABI) has announced that its Director General, Huw Evans, will be leaving the organisation at the end of the year to join KPMG.
Effective January 2022, Evans will join KPMG as a Partner within its insurance and long-term savings practice.
He has served as Director General of the ABI since February 2015, having joined the association in 2008 as Operations Director before transitioning to Director of Policy and Deputy Director General in 2013.
“It’s been a huge privilege to help lead the insurance and long-term savings sector but I am now in my 7th year as Director General and it feels the right time to be preparing to move on. I’m really pleased to have the opportunity to stay in the sector and carry on helping it meet the fast-changing requirements of customers, regulators and our economy,” said Evans.
“Leading a trade association and driving modernisation is never easy and it has certainly not been a quiet term of office with Brexit, Solvency II implementation, Pension freedoms, a pandemic and three general elections to help navigate among many other things. I’ve been blessed with a great ABI team and a group of industry leaders really committed to driving our sector forward and that is what has made the job worthwhile.
“There is still plenty to do and I look forward to focusing on Solvency II reform, improving customer outcomes, GI pricing and developing our climate change roadmap in my remaining seven months,” he continued.
Prior to the ABI, Evans spent more than two years with the Royal Bank of Scotland Group as a Senior Manager of Group Strategy.
Between 2001 and 2006, he served as a Special Adviser to Prime Minister Tony Blair and Home Secretary David Blunkett.
Jon Dye, ABI Chair and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Allianz Insurance, commented: “Huw Evans has been an inspirational leader of the ABI, and has brought a restless determination to drive both our industry and the ABI forward. He has played a critical role in helping our sector navigate a hugely turbulent decade and tackling seismic changes within the industry itself.
“His achievements are many and include negotiating and implementing Flood Re, overseeing consumer initiatives such as the voluntary codes for vulnerable customers, the Mental Health Standards, pensions language simplification and the Covid-19 customer pledges, as well as being a key supporter of the Women in Finance charter.
“Under Huw’s leadership, the ABI’s member satisfaction and staff survey results have never been higher. I would like to pass on a huge thanks to Huw on behalf of the industry, and I am glad he will remain an important part of our sector in the future.”
The ABI states that a full recruitment process to appoint a new Director General will begin shortly.
Commenting on the addition of Evans in 2022, Karim Haji, Partner and Head of Financial Services at KPMG in the UK, said: “We have a thriving financial services practice that is committed to recruiting, retaining and building the best talent and most trusted in the industry. Huw’s arrival is testament to that pledge – his experience, market knowledge and expertise from the insurance and banking industries will be instrumental in helping our clients to meet the greatest challenges and opportunities they face.”
Simon Ranger, Partner and Head of Insurance at KPMG in the UK, said: “I’ve known Huw for many years – he’s an incredibly well-respected figure, holds an impressive depth of industry knowledge and has had the formidable task of steering the insurance industry through monumental change over the past decade. We are thrilled to welcome a professional of such calibre to join our team at KPMG.”
On his new role, Evans added: “The insurance industry and wider financial services sector are rapidly evolving and striving to meet the demands of a new reality being driven by technological advancement, regulatory reform, climate change and the pandemic. It has been a privilege to lead the sector in my role as Director General and I now look forward to continuing that work with KPMG. I’m impressed by the firm’s ambition, capabilities and hunger to support leadership teams across the industry in a rapidly changing world.”
