Suncorp New Zealand has recruited a former IAG New Zealand executive to the boards of its two Vero entities. The new director has a long record in intermediated and partner-led distribution, and he arrives while Vero’s premium income is going backwards.
Kevin Hughes (pictured), currently chief executive of Unity Credit Union, has been appointed an independent director of Vero Insurance New Zealand Limited and Vero Liability Insurance Limited. Suncorp NZ has not said when the appointment takes effect.
Hughes has spent more than 30 years in financial services, split between banking and general insurance. His longest insurance stint was at IAG New Zealand. He sat on the executive leadership team there for more than six years and held senior roles across the State and AMI brands and the insurer’s intermediated business. At different points he was responsible for consumer insurance and for customer and digital transformation.
Insurance Business previously reported his move from running IAG’s direct insurance business to leading its consumer division. That division sells personal cover through financial institution partnerships as well as through State, AMI and NAC.
Before IAG, Hughes worked at ANZ, where his roles culminated in general manager of business banking. He has also been a director of Loyalty New Zealand. He left IAG in 2023 to take the top job at Unity.
Suncorp NZ chair Rob McDonald said Hughes combined deep general insurance knowledge with experience of steering businesses through change.
“Kevin has an excellent understanding of the New Zealand general insurance market and brings particular strength in intermediated and partner-led insurance, digital and customer strategy,” McDonald said.
McDonald added that Hughes’s experience with regulators and other stakeholders would broaden the board’s thinking as the company works to strengthen the business for customers and partners.
Hughes said insurance played a big part in the lives of New Zealanders and the businesses and communities around them. He said he looked forward to working with the other directors and Suncorp’s management as the company adapts to changing expectations from customers, partners and regulators.
Vero is going through a difficult stretch in the broker channel. Suncorp NZ’s gross written premium fell 4.8% to NZ$2.756 billion in the year to June 30, 2026. The insurer blamed a soft commercial market and its exit from a consumer book in the intermediated channel. Earlier in the year, Vero ran a broker roadshow through Wellington, Auckland, Christchurch and Hamilton to set out its plans for the intermediary market.
The regulatory load has also grown. Since the Conduct of Financial Institutions regime took full effect on March 31, 2025, every licensed insurer has had to run an effective fair conduct programme overseen by the Financial Markets Authority. Insurers must also take account of the intermediaries involved in distributing their products when judging whether that programme works.
For brokers, the appointment shows where Suncorp NZ’s board wants more expertise. Hughes has built his career on distribution, partner channels and dealing with regulators. Those are the areas that will decide whether Vero can protect its intermediated book through a soft market while meeting conduct obligations that increasingly cover how insurers work with brokers. Any change in underwriting appetite will come from management, not the board, but the direction is clear.
