Sun Life and Provincial Holdings, the UK umbrella group for French
insurance giant AXA, has made its government and community affairs
manager redundant and is deciding whether or not to keep its lobbying
agency, APCO.
After a review of communications, corporate affairs director Stewart
Prosser has decided that government relations are not a core group
function.
Sun Life is the UK’s third largest general insurer, second largest
health insurer and top four life insurer.
As a result, government and community affairs manager Alec Whitfield,
one of three managers within the group PR function who reported to
Prosser, has left the company and will not be replaced. Whitfield has
not announced his next move.
Sun Life retained APCO as its lobbying agency when it bought insurer
Guardian Royal Exchange this year.
APCO has worked for some time with PPP Healthcare, which was itself
acquired by Guardian Royal Exchange in 1998.
Prosser said the company was deciding how much responsibility for
government relations to devolve to its operating companies, such as PPP
Healthcare.
Prosser said it had decided after his review that there was ’no place
for government and community affairs to sit within the corporate affairs
remit as a full time position’.
