Group Executive Ben Bessell will leave IAG at the end of March, the insurer announced today.

Mr Bessell has spent 26 years with the company, and for the last 12 months led a program of work supporting the commercial insurance business, stepping outside his role of EGM Business Distribution.

He has been a member of the Group Leadership Team since 2015, and has held executive positions within IAG and CGU, including as CEO of IAG's Australian Business Division.

In September 2018 Mr Bessell faced the Hayne royal commission, to answer questions on an IAG subsidiary’s sale of “junk” add-on policies.

In a note to the Australian Securities Exchange, IAG says Mr Bessell “decided to leave the company”, but gives no further explanation. The release makes no mention of a replacement.

MD and CEO Peter Harmer says Mr Bessell has been “an integral part” of IAG’s commercial insurance business and is a “highly respected figure” within the industry.

“We wish him every success for the future,” he said.