Affinity insurance provider, Hood Group, has appointed Jonathan Beaven as Head of Finance.

An ACMA qualified accountant, Jon joins Hood Group from the Whitehouse Leisure Group where he spent 10 years as group financial controller managing the Finance, IT and HR functions. Prior to that he spent four years as finance manager for HML Marketing, then a subsidiary of Cox Insurance Group. Jon’s earlier career was spent in the city working with Plc’s including Cable and Wireless and Dow Jones.

Hood Group Finance Director, Bob Gildie, says: “I am delighted to welcome Jon to the finance team at Hood Group. He brings with him a wealth of knowledge and experience gained from working in different sectors. As well as having experience of the insurance industry, he has spent time in the wholesale, retail, financial services and communications/technology sectors in both private and publicly quoted companies. His addition to our finance team will help us support the Hood Group both financially and commercially as we extend the range of affinity partners we work with and expand the range of insurance products that we provide to those partners.”

Commenting on his new role, Jon adds: “Many people may not believe me when I say that I really wanted to return to the insurance industry – but it’s true! It’s huge, diverse and full of challenges. I was drawn in particular to the Hood Group not only because it is an ambitious company that is growing fast, but because it really invests in and supports its people. My remit will cover many aspects but will focus around providing strong financial leadership, and I’m looking forward to utilising my commercial background to aid decision making and help achieve the group’s overall objectives in this busy and exciting time.”

Leading affinity insurance provider, Hood Group, has extended its range of solutions for the affinity market with the launch of a new travel insurance product.

Paul Firkins, Business Development Director at Hood Group, says: “In just a few years our home insurance partnership proposition has become a market leading solution, as our recent appointment by The Telegraph demonstrates. We deliver what we consider to be the best end-to-end multichannel customer journey for our partners, with each solution tailored specifically to their requirements. We believe there is room to do the same and more in the travel arena.”

The Hood Group has appointed a dedicated team of travel insurance specialists to spearhead the development of its new travel proposition.

Paul continues: “Our team is comprised of individuals with strong track records within travel insurance. Their expertise combined with our own experience of delivering affinity solutions will allow us to offer something unique. Not only are we providing a product that can be tailored to each partner’s service proposition and brand values, but equally as importantly we have the ability to act as an extension to our partners’ marketing teams, providing them with the additional tools and support they need to help to drive sales. No-one else does this and it is this philosophy of building a truly joined up partnership, which sets us apart from the competition.”

The Hood Group’s partnership with a number of different insurers means that its new travel product can be tailored and priced according to its partners’ requirements and individual channels. A range of extensions such as gadget cover can be seamlessly added-on enabling customers to build a policy that covers their individual travel needs and lifestyles.

All partner support and customer services are provided in-house including dedicated account management to support and develop the partnership, marketing and product development including fully responsive websites, a UK customer service centre and an outbound and inbound sales support team.

Paul concludes: “This is just the first of a number of new developments that we are working on to enhance the insurance solutions we can bring to the affinity market and we look forward to announcing further initiatives over the coming months.”