Today Fortis Insurance Limited and UK Underwriting Limited (UKU) have announced an agreement to enter into a five-year partnership, worth annually in excess of £50m Gross Written Premiums.
The agreement between the two companies has been reached following detailed discussions involving Barry Smith (CEO, Fortis UK), Philip James (CEO, Primary Group Ltd) and representatives from their respective teams.
Barry Smith commented; "I am delighted that UKU has chosen to work with Fortis, building on the strength of our existing relationship. This significant new deal supports our strategy in the UK to further widen our distribution channels and broaden our product width, and is further evidence of the strength of our proposition in these markets. I am confident that we will continue to grow and develop UKU's business in their core markets, further enhancing and innovating the combined proposition. This is another example of our desire to invest and grow our business in the UK."
Fortis will replace AXA as UKU's chosen provider for the majority of its underwriting capacity.
Philip James, commented; "I have been very impressed with Fortis' partnership approach and ability to develop flexible propositions to meet our requirements. The appointment of Fortis forms part of a wider strategic review of UKU's capacity requirements to further build our presence within our core markets."
Philip James further added "We would like to thank AXA for all their support over the past three years but both organizations felt that they would be best served through pursuing their own strategies independently."
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About Fortis
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, OutRight, Affinity Solutions Ltd, Text2Insure and InsureTECH Systems).
Fortis' unique and innovative multi-distribution capability enables it to deliver products face-to-face, by phone (inbound and outbound), over the Internet and via SMS technology. Aligning its business activities with its partners' general insurance strategies enables Fortis to offer end-to-end white label capabilities in product development, marketing, campaign management, sales, fulfilment and claims - providing a seamless integration with partner brands.
Insuring in excess of 6.7 million customers and working with a range of
partners, Fortis is recognised for delivering consistent and high-quality
customer experiences. It employs 2,901 people as of 31/12/07 with a head
office based in Eastleigh and others in Belfast, Bournemouth, Gloucester,
Haywards Heath, London, Redditch, and Stoke-on-Trent. In 2007, its profit
before tax and interest (excluding impact of weather related events) was
£92.2 million and its GWP was GBP 757.8 million.
Press contact
Natalie Shale
Fortis UK
023 8035 2754