The chief executive of Britain's fifth-largest insurer Standard Life Assurance group, Australian Trevor Matthews, is standing for deputy president of the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII).

If elected at the CII annual general meeting (AGM) later this month, Matthews would play a leading role helping restructure financial advice in the UK, becoming president of the institute by mid-2008.

The CII has 90,000 members in the insurance and financial services industry, across 150 countries.

"I am delighted to stand for election as deputy president of the CII at such an exciting time, with the chance to raise the level of professionalism in the industry," Mathews told InvestorDaily from Europe.

In June the Financial Services Authority (FSA), the UK regulator, released its review of retail distribution within the financial services sector and noted that there needed to be an improvement in the quality of advice in the industry, suggesting higher professional standards where required.
 
"The new legislation will be key to the industry becoming more professional at the point of sale and is an opportunity to set standards," Mathews said.

Matthews spent 23 years in Australia with UK insurance group Legal & General, before working at National Australia Bank, then Canadian insurer Manulife. He initially worked at the group's headquarters in Ontario, before heading its Japanese operations.
 
In 2004, Matthews was appointed Standard Life chief executive UK Life and Pensions and is currently heading up the insurer's new retail division.

Lat year, Standard Life demutualised and listed its shares on the UK stock exchange.

Current CII deputy president Lord Hunt of Wirral MBE is due to be elected as CII president at the AGM on July 18.