Aviva has named Jill Stewart (pictured) as head of Australia for Probitas Pacific, the Lloyd's-backed specialty underwriter. The move installs a financial lines veteran at the top of one of its key growth markets as current country manager Max Broodryk prepares to leave the business.
The appointment was announced this morning and is subject to regulatory approval. Probitas 1492 (Pacific) operates under an Australian financial services licence overseen by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) - the sign-off the move is contingent on.
Stewart will report to Belinda Steedman, Aviva's director of global propositions, and work alongside Broodryk until 1 September to manage the handover. Broodryk, who has led Probitas Pacific since its early days in the local market, is leaving to pursue new opportunities, Aviva said. His exit is the second senior Probitas departure of the year, following the early-2026 exit of chief executive Matt Washington and a subsequent restructure of Aviva's Global Corporate & Specialty leadership.
According to Aviva, Stewart has worked across the UK and Australian insurance markets and has led financial lines and specialty portfolios spanning the London market and Asia Pacific. Most recently, the insurer said, she led Willis Towers Watson's Australasia FINEX business - the broker's financial, executive and professional risks arm.
For brokers placing business with the underwriter, the message from Aviva is one of continuity rather than disruption. Steedman framed Stewart as a candidate with a foot in both halves of the market.
"She brings deep expertise across both broking and underwriting and is well placed to build on our strong foundations in Australia and continue delivering for our brokers and clients," Steedman said.
That dual background is the centre of the pitch. Probitas Pacific has grown from a standing start into a meaningful capacity provider, lifting its property line from $20 million to as much as $60 million and rolling out professional indemnity, cyber and liability cover for the Australian and wider Pacific markets. A change at the top of a fast-scaling underwriter could unsettle the brokers who rely on consistent appetite and turnaround and Aviva has moved to head that off.
Steedman was equally direct about what would not shift: "There is no change to our strategy or direction in Australia." The handover period - with Broodryk remaining for roughly seven weeks after Stewart starts - is designed to keep service levels and relationships intact through the transition. Probitas's local momentum has been real: the business delivered its best-ever financial result on the back of the Aviva deal, outperforming the Lloyd's market average over five years.
The appointment lands at a pivotal moment for the parent business. Aviva acquired Probitas in July 2024 for £242 million, marking its return to the Lloyd's market after more than two decades and has since launched eight new lines of business through the platform. In June 2026, Aviva confirmed it would rebrand the syndicate, Probitas 1492, as "Aviva Syndicates" from the end of September 2026.
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The Australian leadership change coincides almost exactly with the syndicate's London parent folding its identity more fully into the Aviva brand - a dual-stamp specialty insurer serving brokers and clients globally. For the Australian arm, where the specialty lines Probitas Pacific underwrites locally have become a recognisable presence among retail brokers, Aviva is signalling that the brand evolution will not come at the expense of local continuity.
For Australian brokers, the practical question through the second half of 2026 is whether appetite, capacity and service hold steady as both the country leadership and the syndicate branding change in close succession. Stewart steps up on July 13 with Broodryk on hand until September 1.
