Gross written premium (1999):
Gross written premium (1999):
£104m
Parent:
Bank of Scotland
Year company established:
1995
UK head office:
St Andrew's House
Portsmouth Road
Esher
Surrey KT10 9SA
tel: 0845 300 2456
fax: 0845 300 2458
email:
Jgillard@st-andrews.co.uk
website:
Company history:
St Andrew's Insurance is a subsidiary of St Andrew's Group, a member company of the Bank of Scotland that was established in 1995 by an experienced management team from the creditor (payment protection) insurance industry. St Andrew's Group has net assets of over £80m and has the financial backing of the Bank of Scotland.
St Andrew's Insurance provides cover for non-life personal lines insurance products, with particular emphasis on creditor and other finance-related products, largely sold through financial institutions.
In May 2000, St Andrew's Insurance expanded into travel insurance by taking over the Bank of Scotland scheme.
It is also actively involved in the supply of medical and professional services to the insurance and finance industries, including back-to-work assistance – a service for unemployed customers – and medical underwriting expertise to support disability claimants.
Although a proportion of the business of St Andrew's Group is derived from the Bank of Scotland, it operates as an independent subsidiary, with more than two-thirds of its clients being non-group companies.
In July 2000, St Andrew's Group relocated to Esher and now employs 116 UK staff (130 worldwide). The company has a subsidiary in Australia and a branch office in France, and it extended operations to the Republic of Ireland in 1999
Chief officer:
John Blundell, managing director
Biography:
John Blundell began his insurance career as a graduate trainee with Norwich Union before leaving to become a loss adjuster. He joined Consolidated Insurance Group as a marketing executive in 1989, then left after 18 months to become head of insurance operations for Mercantile Credit. He rejoined Consolidated Insurance Group in 1993 to head their international operations.
Blundell was a member of the original management team that founded St Andrew's Group in 1995. He has been instrumental in developing the group's overseas activities, particularly in Australia, and in diversifying into non-creditor business opportunities. He was appointed managing director of St Andrew's Group in July 1998
UK branch offices:
one
UK staff:
116
UK general insurance agents:
45 company agents
UK general insurance “club style” agents:
none
Direct arm:
none
Main classes of business:
creditor (accident, sickness and unemployment, critical illness and personal accident), miscellaneous property, travel and GAP
Key general insurance personnel:
Jeremy Gillard, director, sales and marketing
Andrew Taylor, director, strategic development
Deborah Hawkins, director, risk management
John Graves, director, finance
Renato Mazza, director, client management
Tony Pritchard, director, information technology
