Ageas profits are halved
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Ageas UK has posted a 50 per cent slump in profits for the first nine months of this year, from £33.2m to £16.6m.
The insurer, formerly known as Fortis, was hit by £7.7m in set-up costs for its partnership with Tesco Bank. Ageas owns 50.1 per cent of Tesco Underwriting, the new insurance business with Tesco Bank that began writing business in October.
Ageas was also affected by £4.3m in acquisition costs for Kwik Fit Insurance Services.
Fortis Life, Ageas’s UK protection business, made a loss for the year to September 30 of £3.3m, an improvement on the £6.1m loss it made over this period last year.
Annual-premium business at Fortis Life rose by 60 per cent from £10.2m to £16.3m.
Based on 2010 figures from the Association of British Insurers, Fortis Life has a 5.1 per market share of the UK IFA sector.
Fortis Life now provides cover to 100,000 customers, up by 41 per cent from 63,000 this time last year. It will rebrand as Ageas in January 2011.
Ageas UK chief executive Barry Smith says: “Notwithstanding a tough 2010, our performance has improved quarter by quarter.”
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