Tesco insurance tie-up to create 1,500 jobs

Published on Saturday 12 September 2009 23:45

MORE than 1,500 jobs will be created as part of a deal between insurance company Fortis and supermarket giant Tesco, it was announced yesterday. Fortis will provide motor and household insurance to Tesco's financial arm.

Fortis hopes the partnership, which will initially run until 2015, will make it the second largest car insurer in the UK, offering cover for about 2.7 million vehicles. The deal will boost its UK customer base to around 8.5 million, an increase of 1.5 million, the company said.

A new entity, Tesco Insurance Ltd, is being created to underwrite the insurance and manage any claims and will be 49.9 per cent owned by Tesco Personal Finance and 50.1 per cent by Fortis. Both parties are expected to invest about 100 million to support the development and growth of Tesco Insurance.

Fortis employs almost 3,000 people in the UK with a head office in Eastleigh, Hampshire and others in Belfast, Bournemouth, Gloucester, Reigate, Haywards Heath, London, Redditch, and Stoke-on-Trent.

Benny Higgins, chief executive of Tesco Personal Finance, said: "This new partnership with Fortis will provide us with the flexibility to build on this success and grow the business further.

"I'm delighted that we will also create more than 1,500 new UK jobs."