Ex-Bupa boss David Hynam to nurse LV back to health

Mutual insurer LV has brought in a new chief executive to replace disgraced boss Mark Hartigan.

The Bournemouth-based group has appointed David Hynam, the former head of UK and global markets at health insurance firm Bupa and chief operating officer of French insurer AXA, to take over as head of the firm.

Hartigan announced plans to step down in July after his attempt to sell LV to US private equity shark Bain Capital was voted down by furious members last December.

His decision came after policy-holders – who own the business due to its status as a mutual – launched a campaign to oust him at the firm’s annual meeting next month.

LV’s customer-owned structure is key to its history. The 179-year-old firm was founded to help the poor of Liverpool pay for decent burials, and its mutuality meant it offered reasonably priced products without having to make a profit for cash-hungry shareholders. 

The planned sale to Bain raised fears this focus would take a back seat to profits. Members were also incensed when it emerged they would only receive around £100 each from the sale.

The blocking of the takeover followed a Save LV campaign by the Mail backed by members, industry experts and politicians. 

LV was also blasted after its board initially backed Hartigan following the failed takeover while also handing him a £511,000 bonus on top of his £435,000 salary for 2021, which was branded a ‘reward for failure’. 

Hynam, 51, said his priority would be to create a ‘true mutual culture’ at LV and realise the firm’s ‘huge’ potential and drive its business forward.

‘I am excited to be part of the future growth of LV= and look forward to driving opportunities, whilst meeting challenges head on,’ he added.

Chairman Simon Moore said Hynam was ‘a truly market leading chief executive’ and was ‘a perfect fit for LV’s mutual business model’.

Moore added that the appointment marked ‘a new era for LV’ and that he would make an ‘unprecedented address’ to members at the group’s annual meeting on October 18 to outline the next steps for the business.

‘Under my tenure, LV will be a leading example of the value that mutuality can bring both to its members and wider society and David is going to be a very important part of that,’ the chairman said.

Former banker Moore was appointed after his predecessor, Alan Cook, was pushed out after the Bain debacle.

While at Bupa, Hynam led its response to the pandemic, which resulted in it becoming the first major health insurer to offer Covid rebates.