Biggs confirmed as new chairman of Direct Line

ROYAL Bank of Scotland yesterday confirmed the appointment of an ex‑Aviva finance director and well-known City figure as chairman of Direct Line Insurance Group.

Mike Biggs, currently chairman of Resolution, the publicly quoted UK life assurance business, is expected to join some time in the second quarter of 2012.

RBS has targeted end-2012 to divest its insurance arm as part of a major business retrenchment under chief executive Stephen Hester.

The divestment of the division, which as well as Direct Line also includes Churchill among its brands, was ordered by the European Commission in return for the Scottish bank’s £45 billion taxpayer bail-out.

Hester said yesterday: “The successful divestment of Direct Line Group is one of our priorities and we have confidence that Mike will help us to get this done.”

Biggs was in the management team that demutualised and subsequently floated Norwich Union on the stock market in 1997, and merged Norwich Union with Commercial General Union to form CGNU in 2000.

Andrew Palmer, who has been interim chairman of Direct Line Group, is to remain on the board of the insurer as an independent non-executive director.

Direct Line Group returned to profit in 2011, with earnings of £454 million compared to a £295m loss in 2010. Hester said at the bank’s results earlier this year that the turnaround was due to writing less risky business and closing some sites.

Martin Flanagan