Ageas and Saga confirm 20-year partnership and M&A binding agreement

Personal lines insurer Ageas has today (16 December 2024) confirmed that its 20-year proposed partnership with specialist insurer Saga – including the acquisition of underwriting business Acromas Insurance Company (AICL) – has been formally agreed by both parties.

Ageas initially entered into negotiations with UK-based, over 50s insurer Saga on 11 October 2024, offering to provide motor and home insurance products for Saga’s UK customer base – it has around 1.2 million policies live in the UK.

Now that this proposition is a binding agreement, the firms expect the agreed 20-year partnership to go live in Q4 2025.

In addition, Ageas UK is set to acquire Saga Insurance’s Gibraltar registered underwriting business AICL, which was established in 2003.

The completion of this acquisition is conditional on regulatory approvals, however the firms hope the £67.5m transaction would be concluded by quarter two next year.

‘Important milestone’

For Ant Middle, chief executive at Ageas UK, the arrangement with Saga “marks an important milestone in the development of Ageas UK”.

He continued: “We are excited about the opportunities this partnership brings.

“Our combined strengths will enable us to serve the growing over 50s customer segment even more effectively and I am confident that this collaboration will drive increased innovation and competitiveness, benefiting all our stakeholders.”

Hans De Cuyper, chief executive at Ageas Group, added: “This deal perfectly aligns with the Ageas Group’s recently launched Elevate27 strategy, which aims to leverage our strong European presence in non-life, increase our business scale and benefit from capital diversification.”

Mike Hazell, group chief executive at Saga, said: “Today’s announcement represents an exciting next step for Saga Insurance. This is a complementary partnership which leverages the strength of the Saga brand and customer base, along with Ageas’s extensive and growing UK insurance expertise.

“Together, we represent a winning combination. Our joint scale and unrivalled knowledge of the over 50s insurance market represents a strong platform from which we can serve even more customers with relevant, innovative and intuitive products.

“For Saga more broadly, this agreement is in line with our stated partnership strategy. It demonstrates clear progress as we move to pay down debt and target long-term sustainable growth – for the benefit of all our stakeholders.”