Ageas UK has agreed to sell its protection arm to AIG to focus on non-life insurance, Andy Watson has said.
Announcing the £181m deal and Ageas UK’s half-year results, chief executive Mr Watson said: “Ultimately our main focus in the UK is in developing our businesses in the non-life market where we have considerable scale and hold significant market positions.”
Ageas UK announced total net profits of £26.3m for the half year to the end of June 2014, down from £49.1m for the same period a year before.
This included £1m in net profit from the life protection business, compared to a £1.3m loss in the first half of 2013.
Non-life net profit was down to £20.4m for the first half of 2014, compared to £42.9m a year before.
Darren Spriggs, managing director of Ageas Protect, which launched in the UK in July 2008, said: “AIG don’t have something like this in the UK and they see this as an important market to reestablish themselves in.”
Emma Thomson, life office relationship director for London-based Lifesearch, said: “Ageas Protect has not been as innovative or vocal as it was in the early days, so I am hoping that now there will be the AIG resources available to invest in change, Ageas Protect will get back on top, and again lead with its products and systems.
“It has some good people and the potential to help progress the market for the benefit of clients.
“I’m feeling optimistic and am looking forward to seeing what it will be doing next year.”
Mr Spriggs said: “I’m very proud of all that the Ageas Protect team has achieved in building a great company from scratch.
“We have a strong presence and close relationship with our IFAs, partners, customers and suppliers based on the delivery of our award-winning service, systems and processes and that delivery will most definitely continue.
“We are really excited about the opportunities that AIG will create for us.”
ADVISER VIEW
Dan Clayden, director of Devon-based Clayden Associates, said: “I would have thought the protection market was an area that was fairly buoyant, but you do see these mergers and acquisitions as the economy starts to improve.”
