Tesco and Fortis have agreed a deal to form a new motor and household insurance, as Tesco continues its expansion into financial services in accordance with the terms of the partnership, Tesco will be on retail prices, sales and marketing, customer service and develop new products with Tesco brand.
Fortis, which sold its banking operations in October to avoid a collapse, and supermarket chain Tesco Plc, plans to create 1,500 jobs through a venture that will begin to sell the British car and home insurance at the end of 2010.
The collaboration, which will last until at least 2015, includes the creation of a new unit to design and manage the requirements, the companies said in a statement today. Fortis, based in Brussels and the Dutch city of Utrecht, will own 50.1 percent of the venture with Tesco to keep the rest, they said.
Cheshunt, England-based Tesco, Britain’s largest grocery chain, and Fortis said in June that they had agreed in principle to establish an insurance partnership. The new device, called Tesco Insurance Ltd., will start writing policies by the end of next year, they said today.
The agreement adds 1.5 million customers of Fortis existing UK customer base of around 7 million people, while the number of vehicles insured by the company will increase to about 2.7 million, the companies said.
The Co-op Bank was founded in 1971 and has a network of 350 branches. It concluded an agreement to acquire Britannia Building Society last month.
