6. Allianz

Gross written premiums less treaty (2000): £1,368.5m

Includes gross written premiums less treaty for:
Cornhill Insurance £1,138m
Euler Trade Indemnity £139m
Trafalgar Insurance £51.9m
DBI Insurance Company £15.1m
Euler International £11.4m
Hermes Credit & Guarantee £9.1m
British Reserve Insurance £3.9m

Cornhill Insurance

Gross written premiums less treaty (2000): £1,138m
Year established: 1905
Address:
57 Ladymead
Guildford
Surrey
GU1 1DB
Tel: 01483 552 731
Website: www.cornhill.co.uk

History: Cornhill Insurance was founded in 1905 as a fire insurer.
From a total staff of 16 in 1924, Cornhill now employs around 3,800 people nationwide.

The main operating site is in Guildford, Surrey where most of the management, administration, finance and IT services are situated. There is a network of branches throughout the country as well as divisional centres in London, Tunbridge Wells, Bristol and Brentford.

Since 1986 Cornhill has been owned by Allianz of Germany, one of the world's largest insurers. The strength of the parent's brand has been used by Cornhill's broker business divisions to emphasise the financial security and strength that being part of the Allianz Group brings.

In 1998, Allianz took a majority stake in Assurances Générales de France (AGF) whose UK arm was incorporated into Cornhill's business. At the same time, control of Cornhill's Dublin and Belfast business was moved to Allianz Irish Life Holdings Plc and Church and General Insurance Plc respectively.

On 3 November 2000 Allianz was listed on the New York Stock Exchange. This expands the group's flexibility for financing future acquisitions and enable it to strengthen its market position with new investors and strategic partnerships.

In 2000, Cornhill's sponsorship of test match cricket came to an end after 23 years. However, through Allianz's sponsorship of the BMW Williams Formula 1 team the Cornhill name will continue to be linked with a major sporting event in the UK when the car races at the Silverstone Grand Prix.

Chief officer: Ray Treen
Biography: Ray Treen was born in Anglesey, Wales in 1940. He joined Cornhill in 1969 as executive assistant, rising to the position of chief executive in 1988.
Direct arm: Cornhill Direct
Main classes of general insurance business: Commercial lines, personal lines, international corporate risk, engineering and legal expenses.

Euler Trade Indemnity

Gross written premiums less treaty : £139m
Year established: 1918
Parent: Allianz
Address:
I Canada Square
London
E14 5DX
Tel: 020 7512 9333
Fax: 020 7512 9186
Website: www.eulergroup.com

History: Euler protects businesses against trade credit risk whenever and wherever it occurs.

Its clients include many of the UK's leading businesses and it currently protects more than £88bn of trade in 160 countries.

Chief officer: Russell Benzies
Biography: After leaving the accountancy profession Benzies worked in the oilfields services industry in both Aberdeen and London before moving into financial services in 1988.

He joined Trade Indemnity in 1990 and gained experience in most areas of the business prior to his being appointed chief executive officer on January 1, 1998. He has been responsible for a number of integration projects within the group and has sat on the boards of several operating companies since Trade Indemnity entered the Euler group in April 1996.

UK branch offices: Three
UK staff: 550
Main classes of general insurance business:
Trade credit insurance.
Key general insurance personnel:
Russell Benzies, CEO
Keith Morris, deputy CEO
Nicolas Delzant, head of risk

Trafalgar Insurance

Gross written premiums less treaty (2000): £51.9m

Address:
57 Ladymead
Guildford
Surrey
GU1 1DB
Tel: 01453 552730
Fax: 01453 532904

History: Trafalgar Insurance was founded in 1907 and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Cornhill. It is used as the underwriting vehicle for Broker Direct.

Notes: AGF Ins Ltd excluded - ceased trading in 1998
Ass Gen de France excluded - Single Passport System (see Main Notes on page 5)
Church & General Insurance - Single Passport System (see Main Notes on page 5)