2010 was a good year for Engage Mutual, and one in which we saw tangible results from much hard work over several previous years – perhaps most notably, the two acquisitions which we completed in the later part of 2010.
The most significant of these, completed late in 2010, resulted in the transfer to Engage Mutual of part of the long-term insurance business of Ecclesiastical Life Limited (ELL).
This transaction has brought us about 15,000 new customers, with some 25,000 policies and £270 million of assets under management. The new members who transferred from ELL are very welcome and I hope they will choose to participate in this year’s AGM, either by attending or, if that isn’t possible, voting by post.
The second acquisition was Provincial Hospital Services Association (PHSA), a not-for-profit healthcare provider specialising in cash plans and private medical insurance.
This acquisition greatly strengthens our position in the healthcare market, and positions us well for further development and growth. PHSA has now changed its name to Engage Mutual Health.
At the end of 2010, we asked all the health cash plan policyholders of our Gibraltar based subsidiary, Engage Mutual Insurance, to transfer their arrangements to Engage Mutual Health.
This transfer has now been completed and, as a result, we now have all our healthcare customers being provided with policies from one, UK registered and FSA regulated subsidiary, which is a much simpler approach than the previous arrangement.
With two acquisitions, strong performance across our existing business and continuing tight cost control, our results for 2010 were very encouraging.
Here are some of the highlights:
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growth in the number of customers for the thirteenth consecutive year to a total of more than 467,000
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growth in group assets under management to a total of £946 million at the end of the year
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continuing tight cost control, with no costs increasing faster than our agreed budgets
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continuing capital strength, and good progress towards meeting the new European regulatory requirements known as Solvency II, which will be implemented in 2012.
We look to the future from a position of real strength in the present. As a successful organisation, with a high-quality workforce, around half a million customers and a clear commitment to building on our deeply rooted mutual values.
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