SimplyBiz has announced the appointment of Kelly Phillips, previously of AIG, to the position of business development quality manager.

The newly created role will see Phillips work closely with SimplyBiz member firms to help create protection opportunities and support advisers in meeting the expectations of Consumer Duty, with a clear focus on business quality to drive better outcomes for the end consumer.

The protection division within SimplyBiz, under the leadership of head of protection and health solutions, Emma Vaughan, has been through a transformative period of development in the past 18 months, geared towards supporting SimplyBiz members. Recent initiatives have included the launch of a specialist panel of leading income protection providers, referral solutions for protection and PMI in partnership with Caspian Insurance and USay Compare, and delivering a training and development programme for members, supported by key protection providers.

SimplyBiz has also recently partnered with iPipeline to offer its members access to the SolutionBuilder platform at a preferential rate.

Vaughan said: “At a pivotal time for the protection market, when the spotlight is on providers to demonstrate fair value and for advisory firms to comply with additional compliance, there has never been a bigger focus on business quality. At SimplyBiz we are at the forefront of providing market-leading support and service to our members and this is why I’m delighted to have brought Kelly Phillips on board as our new business development and quality manager.

“Kelly brings with her a wealth of experience from her time at AIG and L&G, where she spearheaded the business quality teams. Kelly is a fantastic addition to the already award-winning protection team and will be a fantastic asset to our member firms.”

Phillips added: “I am very excited to have joined SimplyBiz at such a pivotal time. Having worked at AIG and Legal & General for over five years, it is great to be working with a distributor and making a real difference for SimplyBiz members. I am extremely passionate about business quality, so working to further develop this proposition at SimplyBiz is something to which I’m really looking forward.”