Swinton Insurance

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Swinton Group Ltd
Company typeSubsidiary
IndustryInsurance
Founded1957 (1957)
FounderKen Scowcroft
HeadquartersEmbankment West Tower, 101 Cathedral Approach,
Salford M3 7FB
,
United Kingdom
ProductsHome insurance, motor insurance, business insurance, caravan insurance, bike insurance, van insurance, taxi insurance
OwnerArdonagh Group [1] [2] [3]
Number of employees
More than 1,500
Website swinton.co.uk

Swinton Insurance is a UK insurance retailer that was established in 1957. [4] [5] The company offers a range of insurance products from a panel of UK insurers covering car, bike, home, commercial, taxi and caravan insurance. [6]

Contents

History

Swinton was founded in 1957 by Ken Scowcroft (born 1928 [7] ) who began the car insurance brokerage business from the front room of his semi-detached house in Swinton, Greater Manchester. [8] in the first year, he sold around 100 policies to local people. [9]

Branch in Headingley, Leeds (now closed) Swinton Insurance, North Lane, Headingley, Leeds (30th December 2014).JPG
Branch in Headingley, Leeds (now closed)

The first branch was opened in 1964 in Salford, and the branch network originally expanded in the Manchester region before it expanded throughout the North West of England. [10] It was then merged with Denbury Insurance owned by Brian Blake, retaining the Swinton Insurance name. The company became the first insurance franchise and the first to introduce a computer quotations system, which is now common in major UK insurers. [11] In 1981, Ken Scowcroft's son, Brian Scowcroft, joined the business and worked in a number of different roles including Finance Director [12] before being appointed Joint Chief executive in 1985. [13]

In 1988 Swinton was sold to Sun Alliance [14] for £130m [15] and in 2001 it changed hands again when it was acquired by MMA Holdings UK Plc., [16] which is, in turn, owned by Covéa SGAM (Société de Group d'Assurance Mutuelle).

In 2002, The Swinton Insurance Group acquired the specialist caravan and motorhome insurer, Safeguard, [17] and in 2004, it acquired Manchester based insurance group Deansgate Insurance. [18]

By 2008, Swinton had become the third largest insurance retailer in the UK, and the largest in Northern Ireland, managing over three million individual car, home and life insurance policies. [19] Their position in the Northern Ireland market was further bolstered with the acquisition of Open + Direct in 2009. [20]

The Swinton Insurance Group continued their UK-wide acquisition strategy in 2012 with the purchase of Greys Insurance in Burnley. [21] In 2013, they then purchased Stroud based insurers Alexander James Commercial [22] before agreeing a deal to buy the general insurance book of North Wales-based Anderson Insurance Services in 2014 [23] and the Cleethorpes based C H Turner Insurance Consultants. [24]

Chief executive Christophe Bardet stepped down at the end of December 2014 and was succeeded by Gilles Normand, formerly the CEO of MMA Holdings UK Plc. [25] Gilles Normand stepped down as CEO in October 2018 and was replaced by Scott Kennedy as Managing Director. [26]

Ardonagh Group purchased Swinton in September 2018 for £165million. [27]

Advertising

Swinton Insurance was the first insurance broker to advertise on UK television in the 1960s. [28] In the 1980s, Swinton ran television commercials featuring a 'Man with Big Glasses'. [29]

In the 1990s, Swinton Insurance ran a television commercial campaign featuring characters from the television programme Thunderbirds . [30] [31]

Other commercials have featured Emmerdale actor John Middleton [32] and the animated television characters of The Flintstones . [33]

Controversy

In 2009, Swinton was fined £770,000 by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) for mis-selling payment protection insurance (PPI) policies. [34] In July 2013, Swinton was fined £7.4m by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in relation to sales of monthly insurance products sold by telephone between April 2010 and April 2012. [35]

Chief executive Christophe Bardet stated that Swinton had notified these problems to the Financial Services Authority in March 2012 and co-operated fully with the FCA. Swinton acknowledged its shortcomings in its sales practices during the specific period in question, and the company unreservedly apologised to customers. [36] After instigating a full review of the business after his appointment in December 2011, Bardet announced a comprehensive transformation of the business with a three-year, £75m investment programme.

In May 2014 Swinton Insurance was criticised by Welsh Language Commissioner [37] Meri Huws for prohibiting call centre staff from using Welsh when discussing details of financial products with Welsh speaking customers in Wales. [38]

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References

  1. ↑ "Ardonagh buys Swinton for £165m". 27 September 2018.
  2. ↑ "Insurer Swinton snapped up by rival Ardonagh for £165m". 27 September 2018.
  3. ↑ "The Ardonagh Group to buy insurer broker Swinton for 165 million pound". Reuters. 27 September 2018.
  4. ↑ Swinton Insurance Page on their formation and history
  5. ↑ Swinton staff and Branch numbers
  6. ↑ Swinton Insurance Product Offering from Bloomberg's Company Profile
  7. ↑ Kenneth Scowcroft year of birth
  8. ↑ "Interview: Brian Scowcroft, property developer". The Guardian . 26 June 2004. Archived from the original on 1 April 2022.
  9. ↑ Swinton History and cost of original insurance policy and amount sold
  10. ↑ "Interview: Brian Scowcroft, property developer". The Guardian . 26 June 2004. Archived from the original on 1 April 2022.
  11. ↑ MEN article on the history of Swinton Insurance
  12. ↑ Link to information on Brian Scowcroft
  13. ↑ The Guardian Interview with Brian Scowcroft
  14. ↑ Swinton's sale to Sun Alliance headed by Brian Blake
  15. ↑ Evening News confirmation of Swinton Sale figure
  16. ↑ Acquisition of Swinton Insurance in 2001 by MMA
  17. ↑ Swinton Insurance details of Safeguard acquisition
  18. ↑ Manchester Evening News report on acquisition of Deansgate Insurance
  19. ↑ Details of Swinton's growth by 2008
  20. ↑ Details of Swinton acquiring Open + Direct Insurance
  21. ↑ Swinton Insurance acquire Greys Insurance
  22. ↑ Acquisition of Alexander James Insurance
  23. ↑ Swinton Insurance Acquisition of Anderson Insurance Services
  24. ↑ Acquisition of CH Turner in Cleethorpes
  25. ↑ Insurance Age article on new CEO appointment at Swinton Insurance
  26. ↑ "Gilles Normand leaves Swinton". Insurance Age. 11 October 2018. Retrieved 18 January 2019.
  27. ↑ "Ardonagh buys Swinton for £165m". 27 September 2018.
  28. ↑ Swinton insurance first UK insurance broker to advertise on TV
  29. ↑ Man with big glasses TV advert on YouTube
  30. ↑ Swinton Thunderbirds Commercial on YouTube
  31. ↑ Swinton Brains TV commercial on YouTube
  32. ↑ YouTube link for TV advert featuring John Middleton
  33. ↑ YouTube advert for Swinton featuring The Flintstones
  34. ↑ "Final Notice (To Swinton Group Ltd)" (PDF). Financial Services Authority. 28 October 2009. Retrieved 25 March 2014.
  35. ↑ "FCA fines Swinton Group Limited £7.38 million for mis-selling monthly add-on insurance policies – Financial Conduct Authority". Financial Conduct Authority. 16 July 2013. Retrieved 25 March 2014.
  36. ↑ The Journal article on Swinton insurance fines and customer apology
  37. ↑ Welsh Language Commissioner's findings
  38. ↑ Swinton criticised by Welsh Speaking Commissioner
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