The International Underwriting Association (IUA) has launched a new brand identity, replacing a visual identity it had held since the organisation was formed in 1999. The rebrand covers all IUA communications, publications, digital platforms, and member engagement materials.
Chris Jones became IUA chief executive on May 1, 2025 and succeeded Dave Matcham, who retired after 20 years leading the organisation. Since taking over, Jones has restructured the IUA's senior leadership, overhauled its approach to claims, and launched a talent programme that directly impacts the practitioners who will be processing and negotiating claims on behalf of London company market members for the next three decades.
Within weeks of taking over, Jones separated the IUA's previously combined underwriting and claims director role into two distinct posts. Tom Hughes became director of underwriting and Joe Shaw director of claims in June 2025. A third appointment saw Kim Darrington take on the role of director of market operations and transformation at the same time.
The IUA also published updated Claims Agreement Practices in 2025, voluntary contractual provisions designed to clarify how claims are processed across company market bureaux. Those practices were launched at an event attended by more than 100 insurers and brokers. Shaw said clients and insureds were facing increasingly complex scenarios. "Their claims cycle should not have added friction that is not related to the risk they are seeing," he said.
The IUA ran 59 education and training events in 2025 through its IUA Futures programme, drawing roughly 2,500 attendees across technical sessions, networking breakfasts, and policy wordings masterclasses. The programme now includes NextGen Claims and Underwriting committees, through which early-career practitioners work alongside senior market figures on developing training content.
Jones said the rebrand goes beyond the visual identity of the organisation.
"This new brand represents more than a visual change," Jones said. "It reflects the continued evolution of the IUA and highlights the industry leadership our members provide with clarity and confidence."
The IUA represents 79 companies in the London insurance and reinsurance market. Member premium income totalled £49.3 billion in 2024, up 1.7% on the prior year but a marked slowdown from the 10% growth recorded in 2023, according to the IUA's London Company Market Statistics Report.
