Our five strategic imperatives* are applied across all business units. The following illustrates them in action in the International division.
 |
|
Imperative |
Activity |
|---|---|
|
Financial Management |
Selective growth strategy carefully targets new capital investment, utilising the full weight of Legal & General’s financial strength. |
|
Diversified Business |
Broadening our international portfolio into high-growth emerging markets provides diversification from our mature Savings and Risk businesses. |
|
High Quality Product, Broad Distribution |
Our international businesses are based on market leading product transparency and value for money. |
|
A Positive Customer Experience |
Selling suitable, quality products that are fit for purpose to meet our customers’ needs. |
|
High Expectation Culture |
From High Net Worth markets in America, France and the Netherlands to our Indian and Gulf partnerships, all require the highest quality delivery and service. |
* As outlined at Strategy of the Group.
Our strategy is to balance mature existing domestic and international businesses with selective participation in the fast growing middle class wealth of the emerging savings markets.
To date our approach has focused on:- Selection of preferred emerging regions, based on criteria including economic growth potential, political and regulatory stability, and developing long term savings markets with low existing penetration of insurance products
- Availability of suitable bancassurance partners with strong local distribution and brand, and the potential to provide scale
- Low cost of entry based upon a green field joint venture approach.
By building new business partnerships in key regions commensurate with our core skills and capabilities, we will extract the value of synergies with our core UK business and build medium term value. This will mean combining our skills and experience of low cost, value for money bancassurance models with the exclusive distribution of strong local bank partners. Our aim is to establish a sustainable alternative to the higher cost agency distribution model which is still prevalent in emerging markets.
Our Egyptian joint venture proves this model in a market of 55 million people by delivering both profit and returns to plan in what is now the biggest Egyptian insurer. With a high quality platform this business is ready to achieve scale.
In 2008, good progress was made in executing our International strategy. Two new joint ventures were initiated in important markets: India and the Gulf.
During 2008, agreements were signed with a leading regional banking group in the Gulf, Ahli United Bank (AUB), to partner us in forming a Gulf joint venture insurance company. This is now formed and licences for both Takaful and Conventional Insurance have been gained. Based in Bahrain, the business will initially provide modern Savings and Protection products to AUB’s customers in Bahrain, Qatar, Oman and Kuwait, before eventually expanding to the wider Gulf region.
Also during 2008, we reached agreement to form an Indian insurance joint venture company with our Indian partners, Bank of Baroda and Andhra Bank, who between them have over 40 million customers and 4,000 branches nationally. Initial licence applications have been submitted and work has commenced to build the operation.