Fortis (Insurance UK) is delighted to confirm continued strength and stability in the UK, following recent developments at a Fortis Group level.
Following the General Meeting of Shareholders of Fortis SA/NV and Fortis N.V. that took place last week, the leading general and life insurer in the UK remains part of Fortis Insurance International, which itself remains part of the Fortis Holding Company.
Fortis is now an international insurance group, operating in the UK, Belgium, Europe and Asia, and is no longer involved in banking. The combined scale of the remaining operations means that Fortis UK is part of an international insurance group of some scale. In 2008 the group reported an insurance top line of over EUR 14bn, serving over 20 million customers and employing in excess of 10,000 people. The UK is an important part of this international business.
As a result of the decisions made by the Shareholders, Standard & Poor's has revised its Credit Watch on Fortis Group to positive and expects the company's rating to improve in the next month. This reflects their view of the upside potential for Fortis, which in turn alleviates some of the uncertainties relating to the Group's liquidity and capital positions.
This conclusion allows Fortis to move forward with confidence and certainty for the future. As a group, its focus will remain on putting the customer at the centre of its activities by aligning Fortis' propositions to their needs.
The update follows the announcement by Fortis UK of strong 2008 business performance and the recent news from the Institute of Insurance Brokers that the company was voted number one for service among insurers.
Barry Smith, CEO Fortis UK comments:
"While the Fortis Bank transactions were going through we made it clear that we would remain focussed on providing excellent service to brokers and the Institute of Insurance Brokers' survey is evidence of that. It is a real boost to us all at Fortis to know that the work we do continues to make a real difference."
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Notes to editors
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, Fortis Insurance Solutions, Affinity Solutions Ltd, Text2Insure and InsureTECH Systems).
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 almost 3,000 people with a head office based in Eastleigh and others in Belfast, Bournemouth, Gloucester, Haywards Heath, London, Redditch, 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.
Press contacts
Paul Lynes, Fortis UK
T: 023 8031 3152
M: 07786 061537
E:
Natalie Shale, Fortis UK
T: 023 8035 2754
M: 07786 034757
E: