Darling chairs insurance/asset management think-tanks

The UK insurance and asset management sectors received a welcome boost today as the Treasury announced two new government industry groups to ensure their long term strength.

Chancellor Alistair Darling will co-chair the new working groups together with Andrew Moss, chief executive of Aviva, and Robert Jenkins, chairman of the IMA.

They will meet regularly to examine challenges and opportunities for insurance and asset management over the next 10-15 years.

The Insurance group met on Thursday November 6 for the first time while the first meeting of the Asset Management group will be December 2.

Both groups will report back to the Chancellor by summer 2009 on key issues for industry and policy-makers to address.

The insurance working group will be represented through the life, general, reinsurance, wholesale, consultancy and distribution sectors.

It will cover all aspects of the insurance value chain, analysing the medium to long-term market challenges and opportunities facing the UK insurance industry against the changing domestic and international insurance, reinsurance and regulatory landscape.

Members of the group include: Tim Breedon, group chief executive L&G; Sandy Crombie, group chief executive Standard Life; Archie Kane, chief executive, Scottish Widows and Nick Prettejohn, UK and Europe chief executive at Prudential.

Meanwhile, the asset management group will consider issues including open and closed-ended funds and mandate-based asset management. It will also identify further steps the UK can take to ensure its competitive position.

Members will include: Robert Higginbotham, president – Europe at Fidelity International; Dean Buckley, chief executive SWIP; Martin Gilbert CEO Aberdeen Asset Management; William Nott CEO M&G Securities and Dan Waters, FSA sector leader for asset management.

Darling comments: “It is essential that we consider our longer-term priorities across all areas of financial services, so that as we emerge from the current period of economic turbulance, we are positioned to remain at the forefront of this industry.”