Belgium-based insurance coverage group Ageas has agreed to amass UK digital private traces insurer Esure from Bain Capital for about £1.3bn ($1.7bn).
Esure is thought for its digital private traces insurance coverage with a presence on value comparability web sites within the UK.
The acquisition is in step with Ageas’ priorities underneath its Elevate27 programme, which focuses on increasing its dealer and partnerships private traces enterprise within the UK.
The deal is about to merge Ageas UK with Esure, forming what it claims would be the third-largest UK private traces platform within the UK, providing a distribution combine that features direct, value comparability web sites, brokers and partnerships.
Esure, with its totally digital distribution mannequin, operates three well-liked manufacturers: esure, Sheilas’ Wheels and First Different.
In 2024, the corporate held greater than 2.1 million insurance policies and a gross written premium (GWP) of £1bn.
In a press assertion, Ageas stated: “We anticipate economies of scale in our UK private traces portfolio and the accelerated implementation of the EIS IT platform, together with Esure’s complementary claims module, to drive operational efficiencies and price avoidance for Ageas UK.
“Continued deal with expertise, knowledge and AI is predicted to create additional aggressive benefits. As well as, capital advantages from enhanced diversification and the inclusion of Esure in Ageas’s partial inner mannequin are anticipated to emerge over time.”
The transaction is structured to take care of Ageas’ Solvency II goal ratio at 150%, because it was at year-end 2024.
Ageas expects its Solvency II ratio to lower by solely round 10% because of the inclusion of roughly €1bn of personal funds devices within the financing combine.
Ageas Group CEO Hans De Cuyper stated: “This transaction will enable us to supply aggressive worth propositions to a wider buyer profile by way of a multi-channel distribution mannequin, positioning Ageas UK as one of many high three private traces insurers.
“Buying Esure additionally helps our strategic ambitions of rebalancing our group profile in the direction of companies with excessive money conversion.”
Ageas UK CEO Ant Center stated: “Underneath Elevate27, we need to proceed to develop our dealer and partnerships private traces enterprise within the UK, and Esure will assist us to quickly increase our direct distribution, our buyer attain and our scale total.”
The deal, which is because of be accomplished within the second half of 2025, is topic to regulatory approvals.
Final yr, Ageas agreed to amass Saga’s insurance coverage underwriting enterprise and set up a 20-year partnership with the UK insurer.
