13. Groupama

Gross written premiums less treaty (2000): £461.6m

Includes gross written premiums less treaty for:
Groupama Insurance Company £381.2m
Groupama General Insurance Company £80.5m

Year established: 1999
Address:
2 Minster Court
Mincing Lane
London
EC3R 7FB
Tel: 020 7623 5280
Fax: 020 7220 0454
Email: corporate.office@groupama.co.uk
Website: www.groupama.co.uk

History: Between them the two UK subsidiaries of Groupama, Gan Insurance (now Groupama Insurance Company Limited) and Lombard General Insurance Company (now Groupama General Insurance Company Limited), date back over 150 years.

The two UK operations were integrated during the course of 1999, forming a new UK general insurer. The new company is now well established in the UK personal and commercial markets and has made in-roads into the UK healthcare market following the acquisition of the Iron Trades book of health business in 2000.

Chief officer: Tony Lancaster
Biography: Tony Lancaster was chairman and chief executive of GAN Insurance Group (formerly Minster Insurance Group), part of French insurance giant, Groupama-GAN, from February 1991.

Following Groupama's acquisition of GAN in 1998 Lancaster was appointed as the chairman and chief executive of the combined operations in the UK. He played a vital role in formulating and implementing the integration of the GAN and Lombard businesses to create Groupama Insurances, one of the UK's leading general insurers.

Lancaster began his career in the insurance industry in 1960 with National Employers' Mutual (NEM) as a trainee inspector. He took a number of overseas roles with the company until 1972, when he joined American Foreign Insurance Association (AFIA) Worldwide when NEM's Nassau branch was merged into the AFIA group. He spent the next ten years in senior positions with AFIA in the Caribbean.

In 1982, he returned to London as general manager, AFIA London and in 1984 he was appointed vice president of the CIGNA general insurance operations in the UK. In 1988, he became senior vice president of CIGNA's UK & Ireland general insurance operations.

UK branch offices: 12
UK staff: 1,300
UK general insurance agents: 5,000
UK general insurance `club style' agents: 100
Direct arm: None
Main classes of general insurance business: Commercial insurances 41% and personal insurances (including healthcare) 59%

Key general insurance personnel:
Stephen Hartigan, managing director
Tim Ablett, managing director
Paul Picknett, director corporate strategy and support
Terry Bishop, director IT
Lawrie Arnold, director finance
Jean Rambatomanga, director run-off planning and control
Jamie Marchant, group marketing manager