Legal & General Insurance has appointed Jeff Woods as its new head of intermediary development.
Woods, who has held a variety of roles including mortgage broker, financial planner, as well as sales and business development director positions across life and service providers, networks, advisory firms, and corporate estate agency across his career, will join the life insurer on 26 April 2021, reporting to Craig Brown, LGI’s director of intermediary, and succeeding Richard Kateley who is retiring after 33 years.
His new role sees him lead L&G’s market development team to deliver the insurer’s intermediary proposition while supporting the growth of the protection market overall, helping advisers to develop their knowledge and business models while giving them the tools to highlight risks to their corporate clients.
Commenting on Woods’ appointment, Brown said: “With his passion for protection and making a difference to consumers and advisers alike, Jeff is the ideal choice to lead and continue the great work of the LGI intermediary development team in supporting and raising the profile of protection while ensuring advisers have access to information and tools to make their lives easier and to support their business growth.
“I would also like to take this opportunity on behalf of the LGI team and myself, to express our gratitude to Richard Kateley for the significant contribution he has made to the development and success of LGI and the protection industry over the last 33 years. He will be sorely missed and we wish him all the very best.”
Woods adds: “If the last 12 months has reinforced anything, it’s that health is just as important as wealth, yet only when placed in jeopardy do we truly value them. Protection policies are not there to change lives but they are there to provide a financial safety net when people’s lives change. It’s therefore even more important than ever that advisers are equipped with the right tools and information to help them talk to more of their clients about their protection needs. I look forward to joining Craig and the LGI team to support the adviser community and help grow the wider protection industry.”
