Ageas Protect says its managing director Martin Werth has chosen to step down from his position at the end of 2011.

A search for his replacement has now started. From 1 January 2012, Darren Spriggs, currently operations director, will be acting managing director of Ageas Protect.

Spriggs joined Ageas Protect at the beginning of 2011 having previously been with Ageas’s retail business, RIAS. He has over 20 years’ of experience in managing large scale customer-facing operations and was part of the leadership team that introduced a joint Ageas Protect and RIAS Over 50s Life Plan product to market.

Werth said: “It’s been an exhausting and exhilarating five years. The business is in really good shape and there is a fantastic team in place to take it onto the next stage of its development. I will be taking a well earned break before looking at new opportunities.””