NRMA now has a new CEO and – very shortly – a new name. The NRMA Insurance Group Limited will change its name to Insurance Australia Group Limited (IAGL).  The new brand will serve as the holding company name for NRMA, replacing the NIGL brand name. 

The new CEO is Michael Hawker, 41, the head of business and consumer banking at Westpac. He will take up the position in December.

Acting CEO Ian Brown, who had tossed his own hat into the ring for a permanent gig, will stay on to help the 41-year-old Mr Hawker understand the intricacies of insurance. Mr Hawker’s lack of insurance knowledge has drawn some analyst criticism, but no one seems to be disputing his managerial ability.

And he has another attribute that is sure to gain him swift entree into the inner circles of the insurance industry, where rugby union is – to put it mildly – closely followed. He is, after all, a former Wallaby who played 25 test matches for Australia from 1980 to 1987, and went on to become a selector.

New NRMA Chairman James Strong was known to be keen to have a completely new CEO, signifying a complete break with the board’s divisive and fractious past.

And the new name? It won’t replace existing brands SGIO in WA, SGIC in SA and State Insurance in NZ. Not for now, at least. And Mr Strong said the proposal will not change the way NRMA Insurance Group does business.