Tesco and Fortis finalise insurance partnership

1500 jobs to be created

The deal will give Tesco responsibility for retail pricing, sales and marketing, customer service and new product development, while Fortis will provide underwriting and claims management.

The partnership also includes the creation of a new entity to underwrite and manage claims. Known as Tesco Insurance Limited the new entity will be owned 49.9% by Tesco Personal Finance (TPF), the supermarket giant's banking arm, and 50.1% by Fortis. The partnership, which will initially run until at least 2015, covers certain TPF insurance products including car, van and household insurance. This area of TPF's business currently involves over £500 million in nnualised Gross Written Premium. The deal will add another 1.5 million motor and household customers to Fortis UK's existing customer base of around 7 million people. The number of cars insured by Fortis will increase to around 2.7 million making it the second largest car insurer in the UK.