Scottish Widows

Last updated
Scottish Widows Limited
Company type Subsidiary
Industry Financial services
Founded1815;209 years ago (1815)
Headquarters
Edinburgh
,
Scotland [1]
Key people
Chirantan Barua
(Chief Executive)
Scott Wheway
(Chair)
Products Life insurance
Pensions
Investments
Savings
Number of employees
3,500 (2011) [2]
Parent Lloyds Banking Group
Website www.scottishwidows.co.uk

Scottish Widows is a life insurance, pensions and investment company based in Edinburgh, Scotland, and is a part of Lloyds Banking Group. The company has been providing financial services to the UK market since 1815 and its product range includes workplace and individual pensions, annuities, life cover, critical illness and income protection, as well as savings and investments.

Contents

More than 200 years on, Scottish Widows has £226bn assets under administration and looks after 10 million customers across the UK [3] . Scottish Widows products and services are accessed by almost 2 million customers through the Lloyds Bank and Scottish Widows apps. In addition, more than 23,000 advisers and advice firms support clients with their pensions and investments through the Scottish Widows Platform.

Awards and ratings

Scottish Widows has received notable recognition for its pension and protection products and services. In 2024, the company earned a 4.3 Trust Pilot rating from its customers [4] and multiple Defaqto 5 Star ratings, including for its Group Personal Pension, Group SIPP Retirement Saver, and Retirement Account in both Drawdown and Personal Pension categories [5] . Additionally, Scottish Widows’ critical illness and life assurance products also received 5 Star ratings, highlighting their comprehensive coverage and reliability [6] . The company’s commitment to quality service is further evidenced by Defaqto Gold Ratings for both Pension and Protection Services [7] .

In the 2024 Investment Life & Pensions Moneyfacts Awards, Scottish Widows was honoured as the Best Personal Pension Provider and Best Critical Illness Provider [8] . These accolades underscore the company’s dedication to delivering top-tier financial products and services, reinforcing its reputation as a trusted provider in the industry.

History

Scottish Widows Headquarters, Morrison Street, Edinburgh ScottishWidowsHQ.jpg
Scottish Widows Headquarters, Morrison Street, Edinburgh

In March 1812, a number of prominent Scotsmen gathered in the Royal Exchange Coffee Rooms in Edinburgh. They were there to discuss setting up 'a general fund for securing provisions to widows, sisters and other female relatives' of fundholders so that they would not be plunged into poverty on the death of the fundholder during and after the Napoleonic Wars. Scottish Widows' Fund and Life Assurance Society opened in 1815 as Scotland's first mutual life office. [9]

Regulations made in 1811 showed its focus on providing annuities for dependants, but this quickly became only a small part of the company's business. They also set eligibility requirements; for example, those over fifty years old or those with a wife more than twenty years younger than himself could not apply. [10]

Scottish Widows granted just 10 policies to female customers in the first four years, as applications from women were rare at the time. One example is Catherine Drummond in 1818, who as an unmarried woman requested annuity of £50 (£5,000 in 2024) [11] once turning sixty years old. [10]

In 1999, Lloyds TSB agreed to buy the society for £7 billion. [12] The society demutualised on 3 March 2000 as part of the acquisition. [13] Scottish Widows became part of Lloyds Banking Group in January 2009 and in November 2013, Lloyds Banking Group sold its asset management division, Scottish Widows Investment Partnership (SWIP) to Aberdeen Asset Management in a £660m deal [14] .

In July 2021 Lloyds Banking Group announced its intention to acquire Embark Group [15] , a fast-growing investment and retirement platform business. Following the deal, the Embark Platform was rebranded [16] as the Scottish Widows Platform and the business announced significant investment plans to make improvements to payment functionality, charging capability and new investment solutions for financial advisers.

Scottish widows advert from 1878 Scottish widows advert.jpg
Scottish widows advert from 1878

Emblems and advertising

In 1818, Scottish Widows adopted an emblem created by William Home Lizars, which features the Roman goddess Ceres (Plenty) holding a cornucopia and accompanied by cherubs. A tombstone is seen on her left and a widow kneels on her right with her daughters. This imagery represented the company's goal to support female dependants facing financial loss. [10] The emblem was not only used as the company arms, but also in its policy documents.

In 1832, Sir John Steell was inspired by the 1818 emblem to sculpture figures of a widow, her children, and Ceres into the ornamentation of the company's building in 5 St Andrew Square. [17]

The emblem on the cover of the 1914 Scottish Widows annual report was designed by Walter Crane in 1888. It featured Perseus and Pegasus, a symbol of immortality. [18] [17]

In 1986 the first Scottish Widow appeared in a television advert directed by David Bailey in 1986. Since then, Scottish Widows has made 10 adverts featuring the Scottish Widow. [19]

Four models have portrayed the Scottish Widow, a hooded character featured in the company's advertising. The original Widow, chosen to portray the company's brand values in the 'Looking Good' commercial in 1986, was Deborah Moore, daughter of actor Roger Moore. In 1994, Amanda Lamb took over the role. Hayley Hunt became the third Scottish Widow in 2005. In 2014, the company announced that the fourth Scottish Widow would be Amber Martinez. [20]

Scottish Widows is well-known for its iconic advertising campaigns featuring the “living logo” of a widow in a black hood and cape. This symbol has been a staple of the company’s branding for decades.

In 2024, Scottish Widows began a rebranding initiative to modernise its image, introducing a contemporary logo while maintaining its traditional elements. The rebrand includes updates to digital platforms and advertising materials, ensuring a fresh and modern look for the company [21] .

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NatWest Group</span> British banking and insurance holding company

NatWest Group PLC is a British banking and insurance holding company, based in Edinburgh, Scotland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Friends Provident</span> British life insurance company

Friends' Provident Insurance was a banking institution founded in 1832 to serve the needs of the Society of Friends (Quakers). Based in Bradford, Yorkshire, it concentrated on sickness and annuity policies until its life fund acquired Century Insurance in 1918, expanding into general insurance. The restriction to Quaker membership was an increasing constraint but the ties were substantially reduced by the Friends' Provident Institution Act 1915. Although Century's branch network enabled FPI to expand, the periodic underwriting losses strained the life fund's capital base and Century was sold in 1975. In the year 2000, Friends Provident demutualised and listed on the FT100 Index. After abortive takeover negotiations, Friends accepted a takeover bid from Resolution Limited in 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lloyds Bank</span> British retail and commercial bank

Lloyds Bank plc is a major British retail and commercial bank with a significant presence across England and Wales. It has traditionally been regarded one of the "Big Four" clearing banks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Legal & General</span> British multinational financial services company

Legal & General Group plc, commonly known as Legal & General, is a British multinational financial services and asset management company headquartered in London, England. Its products and services include investment management, lifetime mortgages, pensions, annuities, and life assurance. As of January 2020, it no longer provides general insurance following the sale of Legal & General Insurance to Allianz. It has operations in the United Kingdom and United States, with investment management businesses in the Gulf, Europe and Asia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">AMP Limited</span> Financial services company in Australia and New Zealand

AMP Limited is an Australian financial services company that operates in Australia and New Zealand. It offers superannuation and investment products, financial advice and banking services through AMP Banking, including home loans and savings accounts. AMP is headquartered in Sydney, Australia. The company previously operated a global investment management business through its subsidiary AMP Capital.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Schroders</span> British asset management company

Schroders plc is a British multinational asset management company headquartered in London, England. Founded in 1804, it employs over 6,000 people worldwide in 38 locations around Europe, America, Asia, Africa and the Middle East. It is traded on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Economy of Edinburgh</span>

Edinburgh, the capital city of Scotland, was ranked the 13th largest financial centre internationally and the 4th largest financial centre in Europe in 2020. The economy of Edinburgh is recognised as a powerhouse of the Scottish economy, as well as the wider UK economy, being the second largest financial centre in the United Kingdom behind London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">International Financial Services District</span> Financial district in Glasgow, Scotland

The International Financial Services District (IFSD) is a financial district in the city of Glasgow, the largest city in Scotland. Nicknamed "Wall Street on the Clyde", it ranked in the top 40 of international financial districts, ahead of cities including Brussels, Madrid, Helsinki, Milan and Dublin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grindlays Bank</span> Historic British bank

The historic overseas bank was established in London in 1828 as Leslie & Grindlay, agents and bankers to the British Army and business community in India. Banking operations expanded to include the Indian subcontinent, the Middle East and elements of Africa and Southeast Asia. It was styled Grindlay, Christian & Matthews in 1839, Grindlay & Co from 1843, Grindlay & Co Ltd from 1924 and Grindlays Bank Ltd in 1947 until its merger with the National Bank of India.

Sir Winfried Franz Wilhelm Bischoff was a German-born British banker who was the chairman of Lloyds Banking Group. He previously served as chairman and interim CEO of Citigroup in 2007. He was succeeded as CEO by Vikram Pandit on 11 December 2007. Bischoff stepped down as chairman on 23 February 2009 and was replaced by Richard Parsons. He had dual British and German citizenship.

Lebara is a telecommunications company providing services using the mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) business model in the United Kingdom, France, Denmark, the Netherlands, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Switzerland and Australia. Lebara provides pay-as-you-go and contract-based mobile SIM cards in these countries, and its brand is also used under license in four other countries.

UK Financial Investments (UKFI) was a limited company set up in November 2008 and mandated by the British government to manage HM Treasury's shareholdings in the Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) and in UK Asset Resolution, which held the residual assets of NRAM plc and Bradford & Bingley. UKFI formerly managed the British government's shares in Lloyds Banking Group, until the government confirmed that all its shares had been sold on 17 May 2017. It also previously owned Northern Rock, until that company was taken over by Virgin Money on 1 January 2012. UKFI ceased trading on 31 March 2018, and its business and assets were transferred to UK Government Investments, a limited company wholly owned by HM Treasury.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lloyds Banking Group</span> British financial institution

Lloyds Banking Group plc is a British financial institution formed through the acquisition of HBOS by Lloyds TSB in 2009. It is one of the UK's largest financial services organisations, with 30 million customers and 65,000 employees. Lloyds Bank was founded in 1765 but the wider Group's heritage extends over 320 years, dating back to the founding of the Bank of Scotland by the Parliament of Scotland in 1695.

Trustpilot Group plc, is a Danish consumer business operating a review website founded in Denmark in 2007 which hosts reviews of businesses worldwide. Nearly 1 million new reviews are posted each month. The site offers freemium services to businesses. It has been criticised for the publication of fake reviews, and allowing companies to remove negative reviews. Trustpilot is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.

Aberdeen Asset Management plc was an international investment management group, managing assets for both institutions and private investors from offices around the world. Its head office was in Aberdeen, Scotland. The company was listed on the London Stock Exchange until 14 August 2017 when, as a result of a merger with Standard Life, it became a subsidiary of the renamed Standard Life Aberdeen.

Halifax Share Dealing is a British online broker, allowing customers to buy and sell shares in UK and international companies across a range of markets. It is a subsidiary of the Bank of Scotland which itself is part of the Lloyds Banking Group.

Scottish Widows Investment Partnership (SWIP) was an asset management company based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was one of Europe's largest asset management companies, with £146 billion of funds under management as at 31 December 2013. These funds were invested across all major asset classes – including worldwide equities, property, bonds, multi-asset, multi-manager and cash.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clerical Medical</span> Company

Clerical Medical is a British life assurance, pensions and investments company founded in 1824, and a subsidiary of Lloyds Banking Group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Insight Investment</span> British asset management company

Insight Investment (Insight) is one of the largest global asset management companies, responsible for £648 billion of assets under management as of 31 December 2023, represented by the value of cash securities and other economic exposure managed for clients. It manages strategies which include fixed income, liability-driven investment (LDI), cash, absolute return and multi-asset. Insight is a subsidiary of BNY, a multinational financial services corporation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">TSB Bank (United Kingdom)</span> British retail bank

TSB Bank plc is a British retail and commercial bank based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It has been a subsidiary of Sabadell Group since 2015.

References

  1. ↑ "Sorry | Scottish Widows". www.scottishwidows.co.uk. Retrieved 3 July 2024.
  2. ↑ Scottish Widows staff (www.scottishwidows.co.uk/about_us/who_we_are/our_brand.html)
  3. ↑ "Lloyds Banking Group - Results announcement" (PDF). www.lloydsbankinggroup.com. Retrieved 27 December 2024.
  4. ↑ "Scottish Widows is rated "Excellent" with 4.3 / 5 on Trustpilot". Trustpilot. 25 December 2024. Retrieved 27 December 2024.
  5. ↑ "Our Awards & Ratings | Scottish Widows". www.scottishwidows.co.uk. Retrieved 27 December 2024.
  6. ↑ "Our Awards & Ratings | Scottish Widows". www.scottishwidows.co.uk. Retrieved 27 December 2024.
  7. ↑ "Our Awards & Ratings | Scottish Widows". www.scottishwidows.co.uk. Retrieved 27 December 2024.
  8. ↑ "Investment Life & Pensions Moneyfacts Award Winners 2024". www.moneyfactsgroup.co.uk. Retrieved 27 December 2024.
  9. ↑ "Our History". Scottish Widows. 16 September 2016.
  10. 1 2 3 Wall text for Buying Security - Life Assurance, Museum on the Mound, Edinburgh.
  11. ↑ UK Retail Price Index inflation figures are based on data from Clark, Gregory (2017). "The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)". MeasuringWorth . Retrieved 7 May 2024.
  12. ↑ "Lloyds TSB buys Scottish Widows". BBC News. 23 June 1999. Retrieved 22 September 2013.
  13. ↑ "Q&A: Standard Life demutualisation". BBC News. 31 March 2004. Retrieved 22 September 2013.
  14. ↑ "Lloyds sells Scottish Widows Investment in £660m deal". BBC News. 18 November 2013. Retrieved 27 December 2024.
  15. ↑ "Lloyds Banking Group - Insights". www.lloydsbankinggroup.com. Retrieved 27 December 2024.
  16. ↑ Group, Embark (19 May 2023). "Embark Platform to rebrand as Scottish Widows Platform". Embark Group. Retrieved 27 December 2024.{{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  17. 1 2 "Scottish Widows". www.lloydsbankinggroup.com. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
  18. ↑ Reynolds, Sarah (2023). "Walter Crane, R.W.S. (1845-1915)". CHRISTIE'S.
  19. ↑ Scottish Widows adverts (www.scottishwidows.co.uk/tv/advertising)
  20. ↑ Quinn, James (24 August 2013). "Modern setting as the Scottish Widow returns". The Telegraph. London. Retrieved 22 September 2013.
  21. ↑ "Brand Update | Scottish Widows". www.scottishwidows.co.uk. Retrieved 27 December 2024.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.