Ageas : Everything you need to know

Headquarters address: Ageas House Hampshire Corporate Park, Templars Way, Eastleigh SO53 3YA, UK
Year established: 1824
Size (employees): 45,000+ global
Gross written premiums: £324.6 million (home), £676.5 million (motor) – 2021
Customers served: More than 4 million
Underwriting expertise: Motor, home, business, and travel insurance
Key people: Ant Middle (chief executive officer), Robin Challand (claims director), Lyn Nicholls (HR director), Adam Clarke (chief underwriting officer), Jonathan Price (chief financial officer), Mark Collins (chief information officer), Caroline King, (customer operations director), Evan Waks (chief risk officer), Adam Beckett (chief distribution officer)

About Ageas
Award-winning international insurer, Ageas, was founded almost 200 years ago and is now one of Europe’s top 20 insurance companies. Ageas is the chosen insurer of millions of people throughout the world and provides assistance to motorists, households and businesses across the UK every day. In 2021, Ageas is the ninth-largest car insurer and sixth-largest home insurer in the UK.

Ageas emphasises the experience of its customer base and, when making a claim, clients can speak to a human 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The company has been widely recognised for its cover and its customer service and has won several Gold Standard Insurance Awards.

The history of Ageas
Founded as AG Insurance in 1824, Ageas began its journey as a life insurer and quickly expanded its coverage and products. In 1939, Ageas formed as Bishopgate in the UK and expanded its business through brokers, buying its first independent brand, Rias, in 1997. Through Rias, Ageas offered affordable car, home and travel insurance.

In 2000, Ageas bought Northern Star and became Fortis Insurance, strengthening its UK presence through broker distribution and high-profile brand partnerships. Fortis was renamed Ageas in 2010 and Ageas began offering its products directly to customers in 2018.

Corporate and social responsibility
Ageas aims to actively engage with its employees to create an exceptional company culture and work environment and to enable all employees to achieve their personal ambitions. The organisation aims to create a home ground in every market in which it establishes itself, and believes that, as an international insurer, it has a duty of responsibility towards every stakeholder.

‘Responsible Entrepreneurship’ at Ageas is about creating sustainable solutions for the issues that arise for employees and local communities and about helping to create new opportunities for people to flourish within the organisation.

Community is at the heart of Ageas’s CSR achievements and Ageas employees are encouraged to get involved at the very centre of their local communities. Ageas has a long tradition of supporting charity and its charity partnership for 2022 is with Air Ambulances UK, a national non-profit supporting the lifesaving work of the UK's air ambulance charities. This partnership meant Ageas supported Air Ambulances UK through fundraising and volunteering opportunities.

Ageas also support local education and offers work experience placements in its offices as well as visiting students, to help prepare them for the workplace and to offer them advice on careers available within the insurance sector.

Ageas’s Employee Forum representatives consult with the senior management team and give employees advice, guidance and support as required. Ageas supports open communication when it comes to company feedback and encourages employees to help create an open and honest environment.

Key values at Ageas
Core values which Ageas values in employees across every level of the organisation include:

• Share – this occurs through learning together and sharing all experiences, knowledge and successes
• Care – by showing respect for one another, Ageas believes a great company culture can be created
• Dare – Ageas encourages everybody involved in the organisation to push boundaries and to not be afraid to take a chance wherever possible
• Deliver – Ageas aims to deliver on its promises by staying focused on its key value propositions

Top news from Ageas

• Ageas replaces chair of UK board – Insurer names current FTSE chair and an experienced FTSE 50 board director in private and listed companies as a replacement.
• Ageas UK partners with EIS to drive digital transformation – Deal is designed to “provide the step-change for the company to fulfil its digital ambition, with an infrastructure that will allow the business to operate in a fast, simple, and agile way, ultimately fuelling its standout capabilities,” the insurer says.
• Ageas and Ardonagh broker deepen ties – Ardonagh’s URIS Group extended its long-term partnership with Ageas, signing a four-year contract worth £200 million, This partnership provides cover for a variety of specialist personal and commercial lines risks in an array of niche trade sectors.
• Ageas UK enjoys higher half-year net profit – Ageas UK reported a 70% increase in net profit from £26.8 million in the first six months of 2018 to £45.4 million in the second half. “As we progress through the year, we remain focused on profitability,” said Ageas UK chief executive Andy Watson at the time.
• Ageas to focus on Europe, Asia in three-year strategy – In September 2018, Ageas announced its intention to focus its development strategy on the Asian and European markets. The three-year strategic plan (named Connect21), detailed that this strategy will take into consideration a longer-term view on the future of insurance as impacted by technological innovation and evolving customer needs.