Post Top 100 UK Insurers Supplement: Top 20 Spotlight

1
Aviva Insurance
St Helen's
1 Undershaft
London
EC3P 3DQ
020 7283 2000
www.aviva.com
https://twitter.com/avivaplc

Regional offices: 62

Members of UK board: Robin Spencer, chief executive officer UK & Ireland, general insurance; Ant Middle, strategic partnerships director; Janice Deakin, intermediary and partnerships director; Dominic Clayden, claims director; David Hall, managing director corporate and speciality risk; Axel Schmidt, chief underwriting officer; Steve Treloar, retail director; Sean Egan, CEO Ireland; Clifford Abrahams, chief financial officer UK and Ireland GI; Rob Briggs, UK and Ireland GI, HR director; Stephen Pond, chief research officer UK and Ireland GI; Malcolm Simpkin, UK and Ireland, IT and change director

Employees: 9095 (total general insurance)

Year company established in UK: 1797

Current UK reserves: £7.1bn

Agency/broker base: 2593

Commercial/personal split: 42% commercial lines, 58% personal lines

Name of brands operating in the UK: Aviva, QuotemeHappy

In their own words: Aviva's UK general insurance business continued to perform strongly for the first half of 2012. Excluding RAC, operating profit increased on a like-for-like basis by 17% as it delivered profitable growth through a focus on underwriting, claims and cost management. John McFarlane became chairman on 1 July, with David McMillan, formerly chief executive, UK and Ireland general insurance, taking on the role of director group transformation, to manage the implementation of the new strategic plan across the group. Robin Spencer became chief executive, UK and Ireland general insurance, with responsibility for leading Aviva's general insurance business.

2
RSA
Leadenhall Court
1 Leadenhall Street
London
EC3V 1PP
0845 0772 772
www.rsagroup.com
https://twitter.com/rsagroup

Regional offices: 18

Members of UK board: John Napier, chairman; Simon Lee, group chief executive; Adrian Brown, chief executive, UK and Western Europe; Richard Houghton, chief financial officer; Edward Lea, senior independent non-executive director; Alastair Barbour, independent non-executive director; Noël Harwerth, independent non-executive director; Malcolm Le May, independent non-executive director; John Maxwell, independent non-executive director; Jos Streppel, independent non-executive director; Johanna Waterous, independent non-executive director

Employees: 23 000

Year company established in UK: 1710

Commercial/personal split: 56% commercial lines, 44% personal lines

Name of brands operating in the UK: RSA, Oak, ICCI, Tower, Noble, echoice, More Than

In their own words: It's been a busy 12 months for RSA. The insurer acquired Oak and Noble Marine in April 2011, enabling the business to expand into the high net worth market and bolstering its existing marine portfolio. In commercial, it redefined its distribution strategy at the start of 2012 and signed a major new home and commercial deal with OIM Underwriting. In personal, it started working with John Lewis Insurance and Home Retail Group and has partnered with Ingenie to offer black box car insurance. This year also saw RSA upgraded to A+ Stable by Standard & Poor's and ranked sixth in The Sunday Times' Best Big Companies to Work For 2012.

3
Direct Line Group
Churchill Court
Westmoreland Road
Bromley
Kent
BR1 1DP
0208 313 3030
www.directlinegroup.co.uk

Regional offices: 15

Members of UK board: Mike Biggs, chairman; Andrew William Palmer, non-executive director; Jane Carolyn Hanson, non-executive director; Paul Geddes, chief executive officer; John Reizenstein, finance director

Employees: 15 000

Year company established in UK: 1985

Current UK reserves: £8.4bn (overall group figure)

Commercial/personal split: 9.1% commercial lines, 90.9% personal lines

Name of brands operating in the UK: Direct Line, Green Flag, NIG, Churchill, Privilege, Tracker, Brand Partners

In their own words: Direct Line Group turned around its financial performance and successfully completed the first phase of its transformation plan to return to profit. Performance in 2011 comprised a £719m improvement in operating profit from 2010, benefitting from the absence of reserve increases, de-risking of motor book, exit of certain business segments, and more benign weather. In addition, Direct Line Group hit the important milestone of launching its new corporate identity, as it continued to progress its separation from RBS Group

4
Axa Insurance
5 Old Broad Street
London
EC2N 1AD
0207 920 5900
www.axa.co.uk

Regional offices: 35
Members of UK board: Anthony Hamilton, chairman; Jonathan Asquith, non-executive director; Ian Brimecome, non-executive director; Peter Burrows, non-executive director; Henri de Castries, non-executive director; Bob Dench, non-executive director; Denis Duverne, non-executive director; Rosalyn Wilton, non-executive director; Paul Evans, group chief executive officer Axa UK and Ireland; Amanda Blanc, executive director and CEO Axa Commercial Lines and personal intermediary; Jean Drouffe, executive director and group finance, risk and strategy director; Keith Gibbs, executive director and CEO Axa PPP healthcare; Mike Kellard, executive director and CEO Axa Wealth; John O'Neill, executive director and CEO Axa Ireland

Employees: 12 000

Year company established in UK: 1998

Commercial/personal split: 41% commercial lines, 59% personal lines

Name of brands operating in the UK: Axa, Axa PPP Healthcare, Axa Wealth, Swiftcover, Bluefin, Sun Life Direct, Health-On-Line

Marketing spend for 2011: £41.9m

In their own words: Over the past 12 months, Axa has continued to focus its business on the specific needs of its consumers and intermediaries. Earlier this year, it combined its commercial and personal lines businesses to create Axa Commercial Lines and Personal Intermediary under the leadership of Amanda Blanc and created a new business unit, Axa Direct and Partnerships, focusing on distributing personal products direct to consumers and through corporate partners. In the healthcare market, it acquired Health-On-Line in March, strengthening its capability as a multi-channel distributor in the UK private health insurance market. It disposed of two non-core businesses: Denplan and Bluefin Corporate Consulting.

5
Bupa Insurance
Bupa House
15-19 Bloomsbury Way
London
WC1A 2BA
0207 656 2009
www.bupa.com
www.bupa.co.uk
https://twitter.com/BupaUK
https://twitter.com/Bupa
www.facebook.com/BupaUK

Regional offices: 2

Members of UK board: Stuart Fletcher, chief executive; Lord Leitch, chairman; The Rt Hon Baroness Bottomley of Nettlestone, DL, non-executive director; Peter Cawdron, senior independent director; Lawrence Churchill, non-executive director; Rita Clifton, non-executive director; John Lorimer, non-executive director; George Mitchell, non-executive director; Professor Sir John Tooke, non-executive director; Nicholas Beazley, company secretary and group strategy director

Employees: 3000

Year company established in UK: 1947

Current UK reserves: £529m

Agency/broker base: Around 2500

Commercial/personal split: 75% commercial lines, 25% personal lines

Name of brands operating in the UK: Bupa Health and Wellbeing UK, Bupa Care Services UK, Bupa Home Healthcare, Bupa Cromwell Hospital, Bupa International

In their own words: Bupa Health and Wellbeing is a health insurer serving the individual, corporate and SME business segments and currently has almost three million customers. In 2012, BHW expanded its specialist support teams to help customers manage the medical and practical aspects of various conditions. It also launched a television advertising campaign to raise awareness of how its cancer cover has no financial or time limits and announced a multi-million pound investment to grow its dental business and become one of the largest private dental chains in the UK by 2015. The quality of BHW continues to be recognised by the industry, winning Best Healthcare Provider in the Corporate Market at the Corporate Adviser Awards and Health Insurance Provider of the Year at the Financial Adviser Life and Pensions Awards.

6
Ace Europe
The Ace Building
100 Leadenhall Street
London
EC3A 3BP
020 7173 7000
www.acegroup.com/uk

Regional offices: 10

Members of UK board: Andrew Kendrick, chairman, Ace European Group; Joe Clabby, regional president, Ace Continental Europe; Matthew Shaw, division president, Ace Global Markets active underwriter, Syndicate 2488, chairman, Ace Tempest Re Europe; Pat Drinan, regional senior vice president, accident and health; David Robinson, regional president, Ace UK; Peter Murray, claims director, Ace European Group and senior vice president, claims for Ace Overseas General; Michael Reynolds, chief financial officer, Ace European Group; Lance Grant, senior vice president, operations and IT Ace European Group; Kenneth Underhill, general counsel; Mark McCausland, chief risk officer, Ace European Group; Tony Jordan, chief actuary, Ace European Group; Darragh Gray, director of communications and marketing, Ace European Group

Employees: 160 000 worldwide

Year company established in UK: 1985

Name of brands operating in the UK: Ace Europe, Ace Global Markets

In their own words: In the past 12 months, Ace acquired US agribusiness insurer Penn Millers, Ecuadorian general insurer Rio Guayas and Indonesian general insurer Asuransi Jaya Proteksi, and established an office in Ukraine. Ace chief executive Evan Greenberg was named Insurance Leader of the Year by St John's University's School of Risk Management. Two Ace UK commercial teams received Underwriting Service Awards from Post. In the US, Ace was sixth among financial companies and 56th overall in Newsweek's Green Rankings.

7
Chartis Europe
The Chartis Building
58 Fenchurch Street
London
EC3M 4AB
020 7954 7000
www.chartisinsurance.com/uk
https://twitter.com/chartis_uk_news

Regional offices: 11

Members of UK board: Nicolas Aubert, managing director UK; Jacqueline McNamee, executive director commercial lines UK; Patrick Corbett, executive director consumer lines UK; David Miller, executive director client services UK

Employees: 1700 (approx)

Year company established in UK: 1953

Current UK reserves: £1.19bn

Agency/broker base: 1700 (approx)

Commercial/personal split: 87.9% commercial lines, 12.1% personal lines

Name of brands operating in the UK: Chartis Direct, Hospital Plan Insurance Services, Direct Travel Insurance

In their own words: Chartis Europe (formally Chartis Insurance UK) demonstrated a robust performance in 2011. Core underwriting business improved and it invested in a number of exceptional items that will deliver tangible benefits in increased servicing ability and efficiency. Its combined ratio improved to 103.6%, compared with 104.2% in 2010. Underwriting losses have improved by around 20% to £51.7m (2010: £65.3m). This reflected a lower loss ratio, partially offset by higher expenses as it invested in its systems, prepared for Solvency II and the legal restructure programme, which will create a single European insurer and is on course to complete by December 2012. Chartis Europe is well placed to make progress and maintain its focus on delivering profitable growth by keeping a strict underwriting discipline and becoming more efficient in everything it does.

8
Great Lakes Reinsurance (UK)
Plantation Place
30 Fenchurch Street
London
EC3M 3AJ
020 3003 7000
www.greatlakes.co.uk

Members of UK board: Peter Göschl, chief executive officer; Greg Guelfand, chief financial officer; Tony Medniuk, chairman; Guido Funke, non-executive director; August Pröbstl, non-executive director; Nigel Smith, non-executive director

Employees: 90

Year company established in UK: 1987

Current UK reserves: £2.35bn

Agency/broker base: 40

Commercial/personal split: 56% commercial lines, 44% personal lines

In their own words: Gross written premium in 2011 was 7.8% higher than in 2010, with stable positive gross underwriting performance. Agency sourced business provided the dominant share of the gross written premium at approximately 81%. The key focus remains on profitable underwriting and cycle management. Gross loss and combine ratios remained stable year on year, highlighting the trend of on-going positive underwriting performance. The 2011 global insurance market was adversely affected by a number of natural catastrophe losses, but owing to the company's portfolio composition, the impact on Great Lakes was not material, either on a gross or a net basis. There was an improved net underwriting result in 2011, due to fewer large losses experienced during the year coupled with reserve releases from prior underwriting years. The net underwriting result was boosted by an increase in the company's investment return. The company's solvency margin remains strong despite the premium growth. The company is rated A+ superior by AM Best and AA- strong by Standard & Poor's.

9
Allianz Insurance
57 Ladymead
Guildford
Surrey
GU1 1DB
01483 568 161
www.allianz.co.uk

Regional offices: 24
Members of UK board: Andrew Torrance, chief executive; Mark Churchlow, chief financial officer; Jon Dye, general manager, Allianz Retail; Phillip Gennoy, director, HR; Chris Hanks, general manager, Allianz Commercial; John Knowles, director, IT and off-shore operations; Graham Gibson, director, claims; Kathryn Willis, director, actuarial and planning

Employees: 5 000 (approx)

Year company established in UK: 1905

Current UK reserves: £1.61bn

Agency/broker base: 2309

Commercial/personal split: 53% commercial, 47% retail

Name of brands operating in the UK: Allianz Insurance, Allianz Your Cover, Petplan, Premierline

In their own words: It was another very successful year for Allianz. Versus industry peers it delivered the best growth and profitability in 2011. Averaged over the past five years, it has the highest growth and best combined ratio, demonstrating consistent outperformance. It delivered for customers, retaining loyalty leadership in its commercial, engineering and Petplan businesses, as well as achieving major customer feedback improvements in retail and claims. It successfully launched new Petplan products and a strategic partnership with BMW. Finally, it delivered for its people with an award winning employee engagement programme centred on high performance and London 2012.

10
QBE Europe
QBE European Operations
Plantation Place
30 Fenchurch St
London
EC3M 3BD
020 7105 4000
www.qbeeurope.com
https://twitter.com/QBEeo

Regional offices: 10

Members of UK board: Steven Burns, chief executive officer; Richard Pryce, deputy chief executive officer; Ash Bathia, chief underwriting officer, property, casualty and motor; Colin O'Farrell, chief underwriting officer, marine, energy and aviation; Jonathan Parry, chief underwriting officer, reinsurance; David Winkett, chief financial and operating officer; Phil Dodridge, chief risk officer

Employees: 2770

Year company established in UK: 1904

Recent sales/acquisitions: In April acquired the renewal rights to Brit UK's regional business

Commercial/personal split: 100% commercial lines

Name of brands operating in the UK: QBE, British Marine

In their own words: QBE Europe strengthened its position as a business insurance specialist in 2011 and the first half of 2012. A focus in 2011 on developing UK and Ireland regional business through common leadership and strategy, optimising underwriting empowerment and enabling commercial managers to make full use of local expertise and relationships, was followed in April 2012 by the acquisition of the renewal rights to Brit UK's regional operations. Growth has been particularly strong in QBE Europe's property account, a result of focused attention to portfolio opportunities and capitalising on the more buoyant international property rating environment.

11
NFU Mutual
Tiddington Road
Stratford-upon-Avon
CV37 7BJ
01789 204211
www.nfumutual.co.uk

Regional offices: 9

Members of UK board: Richard Percy, chairman; Lindsay Sinclair, group chief executive; Kim Arif, finance director; Ian Leech, sales and agency director; Steve Bower, customer services director; Trisha Jones, HR director; Tim Mann, IT director

Employees: 3721

Year company established in UK: 1910

Current UK reserves: £2.9bn

Agency/broker base: 744

Name of brands operating in the UK: NFU Mutual, Avon Insurance, NFU Mutual Risk Management Services

In their own words: In 2011, NFU Mutual returned to profitable growth, delivering an underwriting profit before mutual bonus of £105m (2010: £150m loss) for the first time since 2006. Gross written premium reached £1.27bn and risk management services business saw growth of 26%. The group is greatly encouraged by its performance so far this year. NFU Mutual's capital position remains strong and it continues to maintain solvency ratios, while experiencing new business growth in line with last year.

12
XL Group
XL House
70 Gracechurch St
London
EC3V 0XL
020 7933 7000
www.xlgroup.com/insurance
https://twitter.com/XL_Insurance

Regional offices: 3

Employees: 700

Commercial/personal split: 100% commercial

Name of brands operating in the UK: XL Group

In their own words: The past 12 months have seen real achievements at XL Group. Firstly, it launched the dramatic redesign of its brand and logo, followed by the unveiling of its improved website. New products were very well received, most notably a suite of five products designed to meet the specific insurance needs of financial institutions. The group was recognised for its claims handling system; XL Global Claim won the Technology Award at the British Insurance Awards 2012. The group announced its financial results for the second quarter of 2012 in August and in absolute and relative terms, this was a solid quarter.

13
Ageas Insurance
Ageas House
Tollgate
Eastleigh
Hampshire
SO53 3YA
023 8064 4455
www.ageas.co.uk

Regional offices: 2

Members of UK board: Barry Smith, Ageas UK CEO; Mark Cliff, managing director; Julian Hance, chairman, independent non-executive director; Adam Clarke, underwriting director; Chris Dobson, distribution and development director; Jeff Grosvenor, IT director; Lyn Nicholls, HR director; Helen Pickford, finance director; Rob Smale, claims and operations director; Mike Urmston, independent non-executive director

Employees: 2000

Current UK reserves: £393.8m (2011)

Agency/broker base: 2000

Commercial/personal split: 11.7% commercial, 88.3% personal

Name of brands operating in the UK: Ageas Insurance

In their own words: In 2011, Ageas Insurance reported 15% growth in gross written premium to £1.1bn, driven by the continued development of its personal and commercial lines portfolios. Growth in personal lines reflected an increase across all product lines: the household book increased by 25% to £299.9m, private car income was up 6% to £467.7m and travel GWP rose 6% to £60.6m. There was a 24% growth in commercial lines GWP to £203.8m, as a result of Ageas' targeted strategy across the SME market, offering high-service, low-cost propositions that meet brokers' needs. Ageas' combined ratio improved to 98.8%, with motor combined ratio at 95.4% reflecting a consistent approach of pricing to reflect the underlying risk.

14
LV
County Gates
Bournemouth
BH1 2NF
0845 405 300
www.lv.com

Regional offices: 16

Members of UK board: Dennis Holt, chairman; Michael Rogers, group chief executive; Richard Rowney, managing director, life and pensions; Philip Moore, group finance director; John O'Roarke, managing director, general insurance; Mark Austen, non-executive director; Ian Reynolds, non-executive director; John Edwards, non-executive director; Cath Keers, non-executive director; James Dean, non-executive director; Caroline Burton, non-executive director

Employees: 5500

Year company established in UK: 1843

Current UK reserves: £10.3bn

Agency/broker base: 4061

Commercial/personal split: 5% commercial, 95% personal

Name of brands operating in the UK: LV=, Highway, ABC, LV= Frizzell, Britannia Rescue

Marketing spend for 2011: £17.4m

In their own words: LV has performed strongly over the past 12 months, a time when profits doubled, staff numbers increased by more than 500 and the business achieved a combined operating ratio of 97.7%. Key achievements during the period include the launch of a number of new products including a market-leading travel product that was awarded five stars by Defaqto, making LV the first insurer to have five-star ratings for car, home, travel and breakdown assistance. LV has scooped numerous awards for its customer service and in July it won the General Insurer of the Year category at the British Insurance Awards.

15
British Gas Insurance
30 The Causeway
Staines
Middlesex
TW18 3BY
01784 874 913
www.britishgas.co.uk

Regional offices: 1

Members of UK board: Nick Luff, chairman British Gas Insurance and chief financial officer, Centrica; Chris Stern, chief executive officer, BGI; Edward Dutton, risk and underwriting director, BGI; Kevin D'Arcy, finance director, BGI; David Young, senior non-executive director, BGI

Employees: 40

Year company established in UK: 2009

Commercial/personal split: 100% personal lines

In their own words: British Gas Insurance continued to grow rapidly in 2011, adding circa two million policies through a combination of transitioning its existing heating, plumbing and electrical care products to insurance and through new sales. Customer-facing activities are outsourced to its sister company British Gas Services, which acts as intermediary and claims management provider. BGS operates nationally 24/7 from five service centres with around 9000 engineers fulfilling claims for more than nine million policies. During 2011, BGI won awards for Business Transformation and Risk Management at the British Insurance Awards and continued to extend its distribution capacity, having now trained more than 1000 customer service agents in its residential energy business.

16
Aspen Insurance UK
30 Fenchurch Street
London
EC3M 3BD
020 7184 8000
www.aspen.co/insurance

Regional offices: 5

Members of UK board: Karen Green, chief executive officer; Christopher O'Kane, director; Heather Goodhew, co-chief underwriting officer; Rupert Villers, co-chief underwriting officer; Katie Wade, chief financial officer; Stephen Postlewhite, director; Glyn Jones, chairman; Ian Cormack, non-executive director; Heidi Hutter, non-executive director; Richard Bucknall, non-executive director

Employees: 467

Year company established in UK: 2002

Current UK reserves: $4.3bn (£2.7bn) (technical provisions)

Commercial/personal split: 100% commercial lines

Name of brands operating in the UK: Aspen Insurance, Aspen Reinsurance

In their own words: Aspen Insurance UK is a speciality insurer and reinsurer and one of the principal operating companies of Aspen Insurance Holdings, a NYSE-listed company. The company maintains strong ratings with Standard & Poor's: A; AM Best: A; Moody's: A2. As at 31 December 2011, the company reported $5.9bn (£3.7bn) total assets, $1.3bn shareholders' funds and 2011 premium income of just under $1.3bn. Reinsurance segment results reflected the high number of natural catastrophes. Premium growth within the insurance segment was mainly attributable to UK regional property (established in 2010) and kidnap and ransom with continued reductions in financial and professional lines and other selected areas.

17
FM Insurance
1 Windsor Dials
Windsor
Berkshire
SL4 1RS
01753 750000
www.fmglobal.co.uk
https://twitter.com/FMGlobal

Regional offices: 3

Members of UK board: Ken Davey, managing director; Stefano Tranquillo, UK operations manager; Martin Fessey, business development manager; Peter Southworth, claims manager; Massimo Bittolo, underwriting manager

Employees: 1200

Year company established in UK: 1963

Current UK reserves: £385m

Commercial/personal split: 100% commercial lines

Name of brands operating in the UK: FM Global, Affiliated FM, FM Approvals, Forest Product Operations, Chemical Operations

In their own words: Last year was defined by natural hazard events. On an aggregate basis, losses incurred from natural disasters were the largest in history. These events have reinforced the strength of FM Global's promise to policyholders: to be a stable market, provide unique services and respond quickly when they have a loss, with a focus on helping them to resume business operations as swiftly as possible. FM Insurance Co will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2013.

18
Chubb Europe
106 Fenchurch Street
London
EC3M 5NB
020 7956 5000
www.chubb.com/international/uk/index3.html
https://twitter.com/ChubbEurope

Regional offices: 5

Members of UK board: Jeremy Miles, manager, UK and Ireland; Julie Marcello, financial lines manager, UK and Ireland; Andy Francis, commercial lines manager, UK and Ireland; Simon Mobey, personal lines manager, UK and Ireland; Bruce Robertson, accident and health manager, UK and Ireland; Jon Nottingham, sales and marketing manager, UK and Ireland

Employees: 461

Year company established in UK: 1982

In their own words: Chubb reported another year of strong underwriting profitability, with a net combined ratio of 89.3%, comprising a net loss ratio of 53.4% and a net expense ratio of 35.9%. It completed the transition of business to Chubb Syndicate 1882 and continued the provision of capital backing for this operation. Chubb received persistent recognition as a leading insurance company as evidenced by independent research, awards and accolades. Finally, it maintained its significant financial strength, as recognised by rating agencies such as AM Best, which awarded it the highest possible rating of A++ (Superior).

19
The Co-operative Insurance
Miller Street
Manchester
M60 0AL
0161 832 8686
www.co-operativeinsurance.co.uk
www.facebook.com/co-operativeinsurance
https://twitter.com/CoopBankPR

Regional offices: 5

Members of UK board: David Neave, managing director, general insurance; Barry Tootell, chief executive officer of The Co-operative Banking Group; David Davies, non-executive director, Bob Newton, non-executive director

Employees: 1200

Year company established in UK: 1867

Current UK reserves: £654m (total gross of reinsurance)

Commercial/personal split: 1% commercial: 99% personal

Name of brands operating in the UK: The Co-operative Insurance

Marketing spend for 2011: £12.7m

In their own words: In 2011, The Co-operative Insurance saw an operating result of £45m, a 42% increase on 2010. It also had an impressive start to 2012, reporting a half-year operating result of £30.3m, a 346% improvement on its half-year performance last year. Among Co-operative Insurance's achievements was the launch of its telematics Young Driver product, which measures driving behaviour and rewards good driving with discounts. In the past year, the company has seen young driver claims reduced by 30%.

20
Tesco Underwriting
Beech House
35-37 London Road
Reigate
Surrey
RH2 9HZ
01737 441000
www.tescounderwriting.com

Regional offices: 2

Members of UK board: Geoff Carter, chief executive officer; Ray Pierce, Tesco non-executive director; Steve Broughton, Ageas (UK) non-executive director; Andy Baughan, underwriting director; Peter Bole, Tesco non-executive director; Fernley Dyson, Ageas (UK) non-executive director; Stephen Grainge, finance director; Julian Harvey, Ageas (UK) non-executive director; Julie Hopes, Tesco non-executive director; Diana Miller, independent non-executive director; Matthew Thomas, Ageas (UK) non-executive director; Roger Townsend, independent

Employees: 400

Year company established in UK: 2010

Current UK reserves: £138.9m (2011)

Commercial/personal split: 100% personal lines

Name of brands operating in the UK: Tesco

In their own words: Tesco Underwriting, the motor and household insurance partnership with Tesco Bank, of which 50.1% is owned by Ageas, generated above target gross written premium in 2011 of £655.3m. In July 2012, the company was awarded Business Transformation deal of the Year at the British Insurance Awards for the successful set up of the business, which serviced more than 1.5 million customers and handled more than 100 000 claims in the first year of trading.