The Association of British Insurers (ABI) has appointed Otto Thoresen as its new director general.

Thoresen has been chief executive of AEGON UK since 2005 and a member of the Group Management Board of AEGON NV since 2007. He has served on the Board of the ABI since 2005, most recently as a deputy chairman and chairman of its Life Insurance Committee and Audit Committee.

From 1988, he held a series of senior marketing roles at Abbey Life, Royal Insurance and as a managing director at Royal Life International, before returning to Scottish Equitable (then owned by AEGON) in 1994, becoming its finance director in 2000.

He was appointed by an appointments panel of the ABI Board headed by ABI chairman, Tim Breedon following an external recruitment process lead by Odgers Berndtson.

Thoresen will take up the role on April 4.

Breedon said: “Otto is a leading industry executive who will bring strong leadership and proven industry expertise to the ABI’s work. He will have huge credibility representing the industry with the first hand-knowledge that comes from running a business in the current challenging regulatory and business climate.