Cignpost Strengthens Board with Appointment of Hugh Hessing

29 July 2025

Cignpost Strengthens Board with Appointment of Hugh Hessing, LONDON, UK – Cignpost Group, the health diagnostics and insurance innovator, today announces the appointment of Hugh Hessing, former Chief Operating Officer of Direct Line Group, to its Board of Directors—signalling a significant step forward in the company’s ambition to reshape the UK health insurance market. With more than three decades of leadership in the financial services sector, Hessing brings a rare blend of operational expertise, transformational leadership, and strategic insight. Most recently, he played a key role in the successful sale of Direct Line Group to Aviva plc, and prior to that, held multiple senior roles at Aviva, including UK COO, UK Customer Services Director, and CEO of Aviva Ireland. In addition to this Hugh was a leading member of the KPMG European insurance business. His appointment to Cignpost’s Board underscores the company’s strategic commitment to scale its disruptive health insurance model and position itself as a credible, agile alternative to legacy providers. Steve Whatley, CEO of Cignpost Group, commented:

“Cignpost is rapidly emerging as the blueprint for next-generation health insurance in the UK, providing customer certainty today, better health tomorrow. As we accelerate the roll-out of our breakthrough product, CignpostMe, Hugh’s profound operational experience and sector-wide credibility will be instrumental in helping us scale intelligently and challenge the status quo. We’re thrilled to welcome him to the board.”

Launched in response to long-standing inefficiencies in the health insurance sector, CignpostMe represents a new model of consumer-centric, diagnostics-driven health coverage—offering users greater autonomy and an enhanced health experience. Hugh Hessing added:

“Cignpost has identified a genuine opportunity to reshape how the UK thinks about health insurance—placing proactive diagnostics and customer empowerment at its core. I’m excited to support the business at this crucial stage, and to help deliver a model of healthcare that is truly aligned with the needs of today’s consumers and the future demands of the system.”

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