The Association of British Insurers has appointed two new members to its board with immediate effect, drawing on leadership from the mutual sector and the bulk annuity market. Meanwhile, Lloyd's broker ATL has separately added a financial lines specialist to its specialty team.
Jim Islam (pictured, left), chief executive of OneFamily Group, has been appointed to the ABI board. Islam has been CEO of OneFamily since December 2023, having previously served as the group's chief financial officer. A qualified actuary, he brings more than 26 years of board-level leadership experience across insurance, investment management, savings and pensions.
OneFamily's presence on the ABI board gives the trade body a direct voice from the mutual and friendly society sector at a moment when that segment faces distinct regulatory and capital pressures from the listed insurer mainstream. The ABI board oversees major cross-cutting political, regulatory and consumer issues and leads sector-wide strategic discussions that shape the trade body's priorities and business plan - a remit where mutual-specific perspectives on governance, capital treatment and policyholder value have historically been underrepresented.
Pretty Sagoo (pictured, right), interim chief executive of Just Group, has also been appointed to the ABI board with immediate effect. She was appointed interim CEO of Just Group last April, succeeding David Richardson following the completion of Brookfield Wealth Solutions' acquisition of the pension risk transfer specialist. She has more than 20 years of financial services experience and previously led Just Group's defined benefit de-risking business, with earlier roles at Athora, Legal & General and Deutsche Bank.
Brookfield Wealth Solutions' acquisition of Just Group is one of the more significant moves by a major alternative asset manager into the UK pension risk transfer market, a segment that recorded near-record bulk annuity volumes in 2024 and 2025 as defined benefit schemes accelerated their de-risking programmes. Sagoo's appointment brings that market perspective directly onto the ABI board at a moment when the PRT sector's growth trajectory and its interaction with regulatory capital requirements are both live policy questions.
ATL, the independent Lloyd's insurance and reinsurance broker, has appointed Javier Fernandez (pictured immediately above) to the newly created role of director of financial lines. The hire signals deliberate capability building in the FINPRO and M&A space rather than a like-for-like replacement.
Fernandez brings more than 20 years of insurance industry experience across broking, financial lines and M&A. He spent over five years in the London market with Willis Towers Watson and Aon, specialising in financial lines business across Latin America and Western Europe, before serving as head of FINPRO and M&A at Spanish broker Asterra Partners, where he strengthened the firm's position in the Spanish market.
At ATL, Fernandez will lead the firm's FINPRO and M&A practice and support the continued development of its Specialty business, with a specific brief to drive growth across strategic markets including Spain while working with clients internationally.
"I am delighted to be joining ATL at such an exciting stage in its development," Fernandez said. "I look forward to working with colleagues across the group to further develop our Financial Lines and M&A capabilities and help clients navigate an increasingly complex risk environment."
