Friends’ Provident Insurance was a banking institution founded in 1832 to serve the needs of the Society of Friends (
Quakers
Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belief in each human's abil ...
). Based in Bradford, it concentrated on sickness and annuity policies until its life fund acquired Century Insurance in 1918, expanding into general insurance. The restriction to Quaker membership was an increasing constraint but the ties were substantially reduced by the Friends’ Proviant Institution Act 1915. Although Century’s branch network enabled FPI to expand, the periodic underwriting losses strained the life fund’s capital base and Century was sold in 1975. In the year 2000, Friends Provident demutualised and listed on the FT100 Index. After abortive takeover negotiations, Friends accepted a takeover bid from Resolution Limited in 2009.
History
The early years
Samuel Tuke and
Joseph Rowntree first mooted the ideal of a friendly society in 1829, to serve the needs of the Society of Friends (
Quakers
Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belief in each human's abil ...
). Tuke, who was a prominent leader in the Society and a city councillor in
York
York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...
, took the lead and was the insurer’s first Chairman. No capital was initially subscribed; "solvency was guaranteed by a bond entered into by several
trustees" chiefly of noted Quaker families. Funds were subsequently raised from 45 prominent Quakers and, with a Board of 20 directors, Friends’ Provident Insurance
PIwas launched in 1832. There was only one member of staff, Benjamin Ecroyd the Secretary, a conveyancer in
Bradford, and the FPI opened in a room above a confectioner’s shop in Market Street Bradford. The office remained until 1862 when the FPI bought the old County Court building at Darley Street.
[David Tregoning & Hugh Cockerell, Friends’ Provident Life Office 1832-1982, London, 1982]
The first classes of business were annuities for members aged over 55 and children’s deferred policies. After its initial ten years, when life funds had reached £150,000, FPI was able to declare its first bonuses on life policies. Agencies were gradually appointed, all through the offices of the Society of Friends and by 1862 there were 42 in England, one each in Wales and Scotland, and eight in Ireland. Life funds increased progressively to £1m. in 1870, £2m. in 1889, and £3m. in 1902. As FPI grew in size it, increasingly found itself constrained by the Friendly Society Acts and especially its confinement to members of the Society of Friends. By the 1890s this was regarded as serious impediment to growth The restriction on investment powers was resolved by the Friends’ Provident Institution Act 1899 but the Quaker constraints took longer to resolve. There was little scope to increase agents as these were tied to Quaker meetings and had been fully exploited; there were no branches except London. Poor results in 1908 and 1909 led to a search for solutions and there were abortive negotiations for
Royal Exchange Assurance
The Royal Exchange Assurance, founded in 1720, was a British insurance company. It took its name from the location of its offices at the Royal Exchange, London.
Origins
The Royal Exchange Assurance emerged from a joint stock insurance enterpr ...
to take over FPI in 1912. In 1914, FPI agreed to accept non-Quakers for non-profit policies only but the major change came with the Friends’ Proviant Institution Act 1915. This incorporated FPI as a mutual life assurance office free from the remaining restrictions of the Friendly Society Acts and accepting all the provisions of the Companies Act. It was no longer necessary to appoint trustees to hold property or exercise other legal functions. Under new rules membership still primarily required membership of, or association with. the Society of Friends; however, the directors were given power to admit any appropriate person. The directors now recognised that new leadership was required if FPI was to expand and in 1916 Henry Tapscott, the branch manager of Royal Exchange at Birmingham was appointed the first general manager; as a sign of the changes underway, he was not a Quaker.
[
]
The Century acquisition
A central part of Tapscott’s strategy was to move FPI into general insurance but there were no powers to do so under the 1915 Act. However, there was nothing to prevent it investing in a company and in 1918 FPI’s life fund bought the Century Insurance Company of Edinburgh at a cost of £507,000, 15 per cent of the life fund’s assets. Century was founded in 1885, as Sickness and Accident Assurance but as the general insurance business expanded it changed its name to Century Insurance Co. in 1901. Unlike FPI, Century had well-established branches with five in Scotland, 13 in England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
, one in Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...
and two in Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
and these were intended to be the vehicle for FPI’s expansion. Century had also developed significant overseas interests. By 1914, agencies had been opened in eight European countries, two in Australia and three in India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
. A shred underwriting agreement had also been made with Henry W Brown, which operated in most states of the United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
. [
Following the Century acquisition, the FPI head office was moved from Bradford to ]Kingsway, London
The A4200 is a major thoroughfare in central London. It runs between the A4 at Aldwych, to the A400 Hampstead Road/ Camden High Street, at Mornington Crescent tube station.
Kingsway
Kingsway is a major road in central London, desig ...
; the head office of Century remained in Edinburgh but its general insurance business was moved to London. The Century agents were used to expand FPI’s life business. In recognition of the changes, in 1920 the name of the Company was changed to Friends’ Provident and Century Life Office although legally Century remained owned by the FPI life fund. Apart from losses in marine insurance, the combined business made good progress. Through Century, the Pacific Coast Fire Company of Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
was also bought in 1920 and there was a further significant increase in the fire business when in 1926 it bought Liverpool Marine & General Insurance. The growth in business required larger premises and in 1928 a new office at 7 Leadenhall Street was bought. However, the expansion of Century’s business, particularly in North America was causing strains that would eventually lead to its disposal. [
By the late 1920s, the growth in Century’s business was requiring an equivalent increase in capital and this put a strain on the resources of the FPI life fund. A new holding company, Century Insurance Trust, was formed to hold all the general insurance companies and this was able to raise its own loan capital. Worse was to come in the form of the ]Wall Street Crash of 1929
The Wall Street Crash of 1929, also known as the Great Crash, was a major American stock market crash that occurred in the autumn of 1929. It started in September and ended late in October, when share prices on the New York Stock Exchange coll ...
and the subsequent depression. The Group was more heavily invested in U.S. and Canadian stocks than most life companies and those investments fell by more than 50 per cent. More than 60 per cent of Century’s general insurance business was written in the U.S. and Canada; its premium income fell by 25 per cent over the two years 1929 and 1930 and underwriting results were also poor. By the end of 1930, FPI ‘s life fund assets were valued at five per cent less than its liabilities. FPI even cancelled its planned centenary bonus. Substantial cost reductions and better fund revaluations allowed the life business to grow. Friends Provident began writing pensions business in 1934 and this became large enough to form a group life and pensions department in 1937. By the end of the 1930s, life premium income was double that of 1929. [
]
The End of Century
Post-war growth was encouraging, prompting a further move of head office. In 1954, Friends’ Provident bought 43 acres outside Dorking in 1954 and a new headquarters was opened in 1958. However, the position in North America began to worsen. USA and Canada made losses in fire and motor between 1951 to 1957 and Century made heavy trading losses in 1957, once again impacting on the value of the life fund. In 1963 Century withdrew entirely from the US fire and accident market and consolidated its position in Canada. Century suffered fire losses in 1973and 1974 and recognised that in accident and marine it was hard to match the expense ratios of the larger companies. At the same time, the need for increased solvency and regulatory changes had reduced the life fund’s value of Century to less than half its written down value. [ It was agreed that on 1st January 1975, Phoenix Insurance would buy all of Century Insurance worldwide for shares in the enlarged group. The official announcement stated that “This agreement is in the best interest of both companies with the advantages of a greater volume, well distributed”
]
A Life Office once again
The Company; now known as Friends’ Provident Life, was once again a life-only mutual company. Despite the problems of Century, it been expanding. In 1957 it had entered the life market in Canada by buying 90 per cent of Fidelity Life Assurance of Regina, Saskatchewan
Regina () is the capital city of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The city is the second-largest in the province, after Saskatoon, and is a commercial centre for southern Saskatchewan. As of the 2021 census, Regina had a city populatio ...
and in 1960 it opened a life branch in Australia. By the 1970s it had been agreed that the life business and the general business of Century should not be operated out of the same office and a separate branch structure was established for the life office. The sale of Century was followed by Friends’ Provident Life Office Act 1975 to update the rules, ending the requirement that a majority of the directors had to be Quakers. The new rules allowed for at least five out of a Board of ten to twenty directors to be Quakers. That year also saw Phoenix sell its Australian life business to Friends’ Provident. By 1981, a league table of British life offices listed Friends’ Provident as fifteenth by assets. [
In 1986 Friends merged with UK Provident.] In 1992 it became a foundation partner in the Eureko Alliance in association with AVCB (The Netherlands), Topdanmark (Denmark) and Wasa (Sweden). As part of this alliance, Friends Provident passed all of its then non UK subsidiaries (primarily in Australia and Canada) into Eureko.
In 1993 it acquired the UK operations of National Mutual of Australia and in 1998 it acquired London & Manchester Assurance.
Demutualisation and the Resolution acquisition
In the year 2000, Friends Provident demutualised and listed on the FT100 Index, raising £1.6m. Its two main businesses were life and pensions, and asset management through its 67% holding in Friends Ivory and Sime. As part of the demutualisation the Friends Provident Foundation was endowed as an independent charity. The asset management was enlarged by the purchase of Royal Sun & Alliance’s asset business and then again in 2004 by the merger with F&C Asset Management
F&C Asset Management Plc was an international asset management company. It was acquired by Bank of Montreal in 2014, and renamed as BMO Asset Management (Holdings) Plc in 2018. Its head office was in the City of London in Exchange House, Primrose ...
. This left Friends Provident with 51% of the enlarged F & C, managing £125 billion funds. In July 2007, Friends announced an agreed “merger of equals” with insurer Resolution plc
Resolution plc was a UK insurance company headquartered in the City of London. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index but was acquired by the Pearl Group in May 2008.
History
Early history ...
but this collapsed in November as a result of shareholder opposition. This prompted a strategic review, including cost cutting and a proposed demerger of F & C. In January 2008 Friends received an informal £4.1 billion offer by JC Flowers, later aborted. In 2009 a newly-formed Resolution Limited
Friends Life Group Limited was a Guernsey-incorporated investment vehicle which had the stated intent of forcing Consolidation (business), consolidation in the British life insurance industry. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was ...
returned with a fresh approach and in August a bid of £1.86 billion was accepted. In the November, Friends Provident duly became a subsidiary of Resolution.
Operations
The UK Life and Pensions business marketed a range of life protection, income protection, pensions and investment products for individual customers and corporate clients throughout the UK.
The International Life and Pensions business operated throughout Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.
Ethical stance
Friends Provident was the first investment house in the UK to offer a fully ethical
Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that "involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior".''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' The field of ethics, along with aesthetics, concerns ma ...
investment fund
An investment fund is a way of investing money alongside other investors in order to benefit from the inherent advantages of working as part of a group such as reducing the risks of the investment by a significant percentage. These advantages in ...
called the Stewardship fund.
Members of the Friends Provident Group
* ''Friends Provident Life and Pension Limited'' - Provides life, pension and investment services within the UK
* ''Friends Provident Life Assurance Limited'' - Provides life and investment services worldwide under English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
and Guernsey law
Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...
.
* ''Friends Provident International Limited'' - Formerly Royal and Sun Alliance International but was taken over in 2003. Provides life and investment services worldwide and operates under the law of the Isle of Man
)
, anthem = "O Land of Our Birth"
, image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg
, image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg
, mapsize =
, map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe
, map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green)
in Europe ...
.
Offices
Friends Provident had large offices in a number of locations including Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
, Clyst St. Mary in Exeter and Dorking, and was the second largest employer in Salisbury
Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath.
Salisbury is in the southeast of ...
. There are also a few smaller area offices such as those in Bristol
Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
and Preston.
Internationally Friends Provident had offices in Luxembourg
Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...
, Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...
, Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...
and Dubai
Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...
.
Sports sponsorships
In 2009 the England and Wales Cricket Board
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) is the national governing body of cricket in England and Wales. It was formed on 1 January 1997 as a single governing body to combine the roles formerly fulfilled by the Test and County Cricket Board, ...
(ECB) announced that Friends Provident would be the title sponsor for the new Twenty20 competition, the Friends Provident T20.
In 2007 Friends Provident signed a three-year deal to sponsor the domestic one-day cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...
competition, The Friends Provident Trophy
The Friends Provident Trophy was a one-day cricket competition in the United Kingdom.
It was one of the four tournaments in which the eighteen first-class counties competed each season. They were joined by teams from Scotland and Ireland. La ...
.
Friends Provident were the main sponsor of Southampton F.C.
Southampton Football Club () is an English professional football club based in Southampton, Hampshire, which competes in the . Their home ground since 2001 has been St Mary's Stadium, before which they were based at The Dell. The club play i ...
from 1999 to 2006 and also sponsored the St Mary's Stadium
St Mary's Stadium is an all-seater football stadium in Southampton, England, which has been the home stadium of Premier League club Southampton F.C. since 2001. The stadium has a capacity of 32,384 and is currently the largest football stadium ...
, from its construction in 2001 until 2006. During this time, the venue was officially known as the ''Friends Provident St. Mary's Stadium''.
References
External links
Official UK site
F & C official site
International site
*
{{Authority control
Financial services companies established in 1832
Financial services companies disestablished in 2018
Life insurance companies of the United Kingdom
Companies formerly listed on the London Stock Exchange
Financial services companies based in London
Former mutual insurance companies
1832 establishments in the United Kingdom
2018 disestablishments in the United Kingdom
British companies established in 1832
British companies disestablished in 2018
Aviva