Direct Insurance Group adds to Lloyd’s broker division

England joins from Compass where he was strategic accounts manager. He has more than 20 years’ experience as a BDM in the market for insurers including Barbican, NIG Commercial, QBE, Brit and Chubb.

He will support DILM’s brokers in the North, working alongside Shaun Woodhouse, DILM’s BDM for the UK’s Southern region.

The BDM team will report into Matt Field who will take the helm of the sales and business development teams as head of group marketing and UK sales for the Direct Insurance Group.

David Bearman, chief executive officer for Direct Insurance Group, said: “I’m delighted to welcome Simon to the Direct family. He’s a talented BDM with an excellent reputation in the market. Having worked in both broking and underwriting for many years for some of the UK’s leading brands, he has a helpful blend of experience that gives him insight into the pain points and challenges in both these areas, to better serve today’s brokers.

“We are keen to stay one step ahead of the market to ensure we continue to offer personal support to our broker partners whilst also capitalising on potential market growth as we head into a hard market. Brokers will need our support now more than ever, so it’s vital that we now have such a strong business development team covering all parts of the UK. I’m delighted that as a group we continue to appeal to the best talent in the market.”