Three senior executives out in Aviva's latest revamp

Aviva is facing a multi-million pound bill to pay off three top executives left without roles following a management shake-up.

Igal Mayer, Richard Hoskins and Alain Dromer are all out as the insurer rolls out a "flatter organisation" that it says will cut costs.

Although Aviva made no mention about job losses among the wider workforce, it seems likely that the "trimmer" and "more focused" operation will lead to more turmoil for staff well used to shake-ups.

Aviva was formed from the merger of several major insurers including Norwich Union, Commerical Union and General Accident, and has been in a state of seemingly permanent revolution for years. It employs 36,000 staff worldwide.

Mr Mayer, paid £1.2m last year, was on the board. Mr Hoskins has been finance director and head of the North American arm. Mr Dromer was in charge of the fund management arm Aviva Investors.

Under the new structure the heads of the three biggest arms will join a group executive committee, reporting directly to the chief executive, Andrew Moss. They are David Barral (life insurance), David McMillan (general insurance) and Philippe Maso (Aviva France).