Fortis UK third quarter results for the period 1 January to 30 September 2009
Fortis UK has delivered another strong performance in the third quarter of 2009, reporting a 6.1 per cent increase in non-life Gross Written Premium to £617.1m over the same period in 2008 (Q3 2008: £581.9m) and a 5.5 per cent increase over the second quarter (Q3 2009: £215.5m versus Q2 2009: £204.2m). Continued positive progress has also been made with the Life business with New Annual Premium up to £10.2m, an increase of 24 per cent over the half year result (£6.4m).
General Insurance growth
Growth in non-life premium has been driven by the ongoing implementation of Fortis’ commercial lines strategy to complement its strong personal lines business and the continued development of its household portfolio.
The expansion into commercial lines has seen the introduction of a dedicated underwriting and distribution structure within Fortis to continue to support brokers to meet the needs of their commercial customers. Fortis is also increasing the electronic trading capability of its commercial products by brokers, increasing efficiency in the delivery of its service to them and their customers.
A successful quarter for partnerships
Fortis’ multi-distribution strategy has further evolved this quarter, having secured a new partnership with its first motor manufacturer, Toyota, and achieved a £500m deal in annualised GWP with Tesco Bank. Both deals have led to the creation of 550 new jobs across the UK offices.
At a time when the business is evolving and growing, service continues to be a high priority for Fortis. In the UK Customer Satisfaction Index, conducted by the Institute of Customers Service, Fortis and long-term partner Age Concern achieved top position for financial services, rated for the delivery of ‘world class service’ in terms of professionalism, quality and efficiency, ease of doing business, problem solving and timeliness.
Commenting on the results, Barry Smith, CEO, Fortis UK said:
“I am delighted with the strong performance delivered by the business this quarter against the backdrop of challenging market conditions. Our success is further evidenced by the excellent progress we are making with our product development strategy, including commercial lines and life protection, and the continued success of our multi-channel distribution strategy underpinned by the strong partnerships we have with our brokers.
As we continue to deliver our low cost and high service proposition to our brokers, partners and customers, I am confident that we will end 2009 in a strong position providing a platform for further growth in 2010.”
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For further information, please contact:
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Peter Russell T: 020 7251 3801
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Notes for editors:
Fortis (Insurance UK) is a leading provider of award-winning personal and commercial lines insurance solutions in the UK. Fortis UK has two main divisions, manufacturing both non-life and life products, which are distributed through a range of channels including brokers, IFAs, intermediaries, affinity partners and the Internet, as well as various wholly or partially-owned companies (RIAS, Fortis Insurance Solutions, Affinity Solutions, Text2Insure and InsureTECH Systems).
Insuring around 7 million customers and working with a range of partners, Fortis is recognised for delivering consistent and high-quality customer experiences. It employs almost 3,000 people with a head office based in Eastleigh and others in Belfast, Bournemouth, Gloucester, Haywards Heath, London, Redditch, Reigate and Stoke-on-Trent. In 2008, its non-life profit before tax and interest was £76 million and its non-life GWP was £760 million. Fortis launched a life and protection business in July 2008.
Fortis (Insurance UK) is part of Fortis, a global insurance group of significant scale with over EUR14bn turnover, 20 million customers and 10,000 employees worldwide.