All eyes on Robin Spencer

Nature abhors a vacuum, and the same can be said about business.

In the case of Aviva, Janice Deakin’s asbsence has been keenly felt since her departure in April this year. The former intermediary and partnerships director left for Gallagher and, since then, there has been uncertainty among senior management in the UK general insurance arm as to who will take over.

There is widespread support within Aviva’s staffing ranks for Phil Bayles, who is interim boss, to take over full time. He is also rated by the insurance broking community as a seasoned trader.

Bayles would be the obvious choice and if he’s not appointed, he’s in danger of walking. That would be another blow for UK chief executive Robin Spencer.

Big fish, big pond

Spencer came from the Canada office, with a solid track record of improving the business. But the UK is a more competitive market, one in which Aviva is number one. It is there to be toppled, unlike in Canada, where it was taking business away from larger rivals.

Four months have passed, and Spencer is yet to appoint a successor to Deakin. Furthermore, by not publicly communicating a clear direction for the business since the office closures and job cuts, he looks like anything but a leader.

These are perception problems. The acid test will be whether this translates into a deteriorating combined ratio and profits.

The upside

If Spencer is looking for the positives, then here are a few. Aviva has a seasoned management team to support Bayles. Experienced management include intermediary and partnerships operations director Sam Hudson, intermediary and partnerships chief underwriting officer Ian Ferguson and head of trading Gareth Hemming.

Brokers complain about Aviva’s lack of speed in service and claims, but it has invested heavily in a new Guidewire system that should go some way to helping ease these concerns. Aviva has also improved its personal lines broker offering through innovations such as Personal Best, and embraced real-time pricing and analytics.

Finally, and most importantly, it is still the number one agency for many brokers. There is still everything to play for, but many say it’s time for Spencer to make a decision about Deakin’s replacement and start communicating a clear message about how the insurer will get through this period of immense change.