[Obituary] Insurance industry trailblazer Chris Coon dies

Former colleagues are today paying tribute to the man they describe as a “great disrupter” with the ability to see opportunities before anyone else.

“He was always ahead of the market,” says Simon Fisher, who worked alongside Coon for much of his career.

“He made his mark, second to none and he was a good guy with it. It’s a very sad day for the industry as a man of his calibre doesn’t come by every day.”

Coon is best known as the co-founder, with Ian Hendry, of Sovereign in 1987 and later, with Naomi Ballantyne, as co-founder of Partners Life in 2011. Along the way, Coon also founded home equity release company, Sentinel and, most recently, set up Cove – a digital-first insurance business – with his sons Rob and Andy in 2018.