Guardian Assurance Company
The Guardian Assurance Company was a British insurance company based in London.
Type | Public |
---|---|
Industry | Insurance |
Fate | Merged with Royal Exchange Assurance |
Successor | AXA and then Gryphon Group Holdings Limited |
Founded | 1821 |
Defunct | 2018 | re-launched in that year
Headquarters | London, UK |
History
The Company was originally established in 1821 as Guardian Fire & Life. In 1902 it was renamed the Guardian Assurance Company.
In 1967 it acquired Union Insurance Society of Canton Ltd. In 1968 it then merged with Royal Exchange Assurance to form Guardian Royal Exchange Assurance.[1]
In February 1999 the Guardian Royal Exchange was purchased by AXA who subsequently sold the Life and Pensions business to AEGON NV, later that same year. Aegon then sold the business to Cinven in 2011. The Guardian Assurance and Guardian Financial Services brands continued to operate under Cinven through until January 2016, when Guardian Financial Services was acquired by Swiss Re's closed book holding company, Admin Re.
The Guardian Financial Services brands have now been acquired by Gryphon Group Holdings Limited, in December 2017, with "Guardian" being the brand for their new challenger protection business, which launches in 2018. Guardian Assurance Limited is also being acquired by Gryphon.
References
- "Guardian Financial Services: About us". Archived from the original on 2009-02-07. Retrieved 2009-03-01.
External links
- Documents and clippings about Guardian Assurance Company in the 20th Century Press Archives of the ZBW