AMI closes all 53 branches with the loss of up to 65 jobs

Thursday, 23 July 2020

Up to 65 branch managers have been axed as AMI closes its 53 branches.

Insurance giant IAG will close all of its 53 AMI Insurance branches and its one remaining State branch with the loss of up to 65 branch manager jobs.

IAG customer and consumer general manager, Kevin Hughes said another 350 jobs would be transferred to customer service and other departments to bolster online services.

There were 128 job vacancies and IAG hoped to retain as many branch managers as possible, Hughes said.

The Australian insurer had acted on the feedback from customers and reflected changes in the way they interacted with the AMI brand, he said.

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Customers were increasingly interacting by phone, email and online, rather than visiting branches Hughes said.

Seven branches would remain open until the end of June next year.

These were Albany and Botany in Auckland, Te Rapa in Hamilton, Mount Maunganui, Wellington, Hornby in Christchurch and Dunedin.

The branches were within an hour’s drive of about 70 per cent of AMI customers, he said.

The Timaru branch would remain open till November 27 to deal with claims resulting from last November’s hailstorm.

All remaining branches would close on September 18, Hughes said.

Customers should visit their branch to discuss specific assistance they might need after the network closed, he said.