Kirsty Cooper, Aviva Group’s general counsel and company secretary, has been appointed as the Government’s ‘Insurance and Pensions Champion’ by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport.

The role, combined with her existing Aviva position, will see her concentrate on the expanded dormant assets scheme which is primarily designed to reunite financial services customers with their money.

The Independent Dormant Assets Commission was set up in December 2015 to look at whether the scheme, made up of bank and building society deposits, could be extended to other assets such as insurance products, stocks and shares and pensions that have been classed as dormant.

Aviva supported the initiative and Ms Cooper served as the commissioner for life and pensions.

The champions for the expanded dormant assets scheme will work with the financial services industry to improve reunification processes, develop appropriate definitions of dormancy and consider the practicalities of expanding the scheme in their sector.

Customers will continue to be able to reclaim lost assets at any time.

Ms Cooper said: “This is an opportunity to put unclaimed money to work for good causes.

“Since 2011, dormant assets schemes have already distributed hundreds of millions of pounds from unused bank and building society accounts, to benefit the most vulnerable people in our society.

“With appropriate safeguards in place for consumers, we should be able to expand the scheme to other assets such as life and pensions policies.”

Aviva has previously run programmes to re-unite customers with their unclaimed assets.

Last year, it re-established contact with 133,000 lost customers and is in the process of providing them with information.