Insurance group Aviva today announced that it expects to axe up to 1,800 jobs over the next two years, with its Ipswich office among those to be affected.

According to Norwich Union Insurance, Aviva's UK general insurance business, the move was the latest stage in the introduction of a “new operating model” designed to improve service levels and drive growth.

The insurance company says it plans to focus its operations on seven “centres of excellence” based in Norwich, Perth, Bishopbriggs, Stretford, Manchester, Leicester and Southend.

Norwich Union also pointed out that these centres had been selected as the “best equipped to meet our future business needs in terms of skills base and availability, accommodation, access, IT and infrastructure”.

However, the reorganisation will mean Norwich Union Insurance withdrawing from more than a dozen centres including Ipswich - where the group is understood to employ around 60 people in total - Dundee, Glasgow, Leeds, Sheffield, Liverpool, Cheadle, Birmingham, Bristol, Southampton, Basildon, Exeter and Worthing.

“This will happen carefully over the next two years as NUI aims to minimise customer disruption and be as supportive as possible for its employees as they go through the transformation,” the company said.

“The announcements today do not affect RAC Rescue Operations, and NUI will also continue to maintain its broker trading presence in 40 UK sites, keeping underwriters close to their brokers.

It added: “In addition, many of the sites affected by these changes are also bases for people working for other parts of Norwich Union who are not affected by today's announcement, so the company will still have a presence in many of these places.”

The company explained that specific buildings in some areas will close however, a section of the staff currently working in those buildings will be relocated in alternative premises.

Norwich Union said it would seek to offer the staff affected redeployment within the organisation and would be “providing as much support as possible”.

Igal Mayer, chief executive of Norwich Union Insurance, said: “We are a very strong business that has grown over the years into a complex organisation.

“We want to deliver excellent, consistent and reliable customer service with market leading efficiency. To achieve this we will need to fundamentally simplify our business, consolidating our expertise into seven insurance centres of the future in the UK.

“This is a transformation that will take place over the next two years and will provide our employees with the products, processes and technology to give our customers and business partners excellent service, right the first time, every time.”