Aviva has appointed Michelle Taylor as chief distribution officer for its UK General Insurance business, with immediate effect, as the insurer continues a significant reshaping of its commercial lines leadership team.
Taylor joined Aviva in December 2023 from Zurich, where she had been UK head of retail sales and distribution, having previously joined Zurich from RSA in 2018 as head of the broker market for the South East. She followed former Zurich colleague and boss Dave Martin to Aviva, initially taking on a newly created strategic accounts director role before being promoted to broker distribution director in September 2024. She now takes on the top distribution role as Martin departs for an external opportunity.
Martin had held the combined position of MD, UK Commercial and Chief Distribution Officer. Rather than replace him on a like-for-like basis, Aviva is splitting the role in two: a standalone Chief Distribution Officer - now filled by Taylor - and a UK Commercial MD, for which recruitment is ongoing. Both roles will report to Jason Storah, CEO of UK & Ireland General Insurance. Taylor’s appointment is subject to regulatory approval.
Taylor’s remit as CDO covers setting the strategy for Aviva’s intermediated GI business and managing key broker and commercial partner relationships - a portfolio that includes Aviva’s Club 110 proposition, its 27 strategic account partner brokers, and its appointed representative networks.
The Taylor appointment is the latest in a series of senior commercial lines changes at Aviva. Alex McMurrough was recently promoted to chief underwriting officer for commercial lines, having joined Aviva in September 2025 as director of pricing, insights and exposure management. McMurrough, who previously held leadership positions at QBE and AXA XL, will lead underwriting strategy and risk appetite across Aviva’s commercial lines portfolio. Separately, Slabbert has been named MD of Aviva GCS and CEO of Aviva Syndicates, joining on December 1, 2026, also reporting to Storah.
With the UK Commercial MD role still to be filled, Aviva is effectively rebuilding much of its commercial lines leadership simultaneously - doing so against a backdrop of UK commercial GWP of £1.93 billion in H1 2026, down 4% year on year, though Aviva’s UK and Ireland operating profit rose more than 40% to £603 million over the same period.
For the broker market, the creation of a standalone CDO role at one of the UK’s largest commercial insurers is a structural signal about where Aviva is placing its priorities. Taylor has spent the past three years building broker-facing infrastructure at Aviva, with a stated focus on visibility and responsiveness - themes she had identified as areas where the business had previously been siloed in its distribution approach.
Storah said: “I’d like to thank Dave for his contributions and wish him well for the future. I’m delighted that Michelle is taking on the role of chief distribution officer. She brings a wealth of experience and a deep understanding of our business, our brokers and our partners.
“We have a strong leadership team across UK Commercial, providing continuity as we recruit our new MD. We have a well-established strategy and real momentum, and remain focused on delivering for our customers and brokers.”
