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Windsor Life Assurance - Company HistoryOriginally incorporated in 1963, Windsor Life changed from its previous company name in 1972, when it moved to the Royal Borough of Windsor. Due to continued expansion, a further relocation occurred in 1987 to Telford, moving into brand new, purpose-built offices, Windsor House. 
Windsor Life is a company with a history of exceptional growth - coupled with improvements to policyholder services and investment returns - based on a strategy of acquiring other life companies and merging the business in their portfolios into Windsor Life. Between 1982 and 1988, Windsor Life acquired the businesses of UK Life, New Zealand Life, Continental Life and Grosvenor Life, reaching a target of managing more than £75 million of funds under management. In 1992, Windsor Life acquired Gresham Life, a much larger organisation which dated back to 1848. This more than doubled the company’s policy base, quadrupled assets under management and established a significant with profits fund. In 1993 Windsor Life acquired the business of Aetna Life and then, in early 1995, purchased Crown Financial Management. The combination of these acquisitions propelled Windsor Life from being a small company into the ‘middle tier’, with assets under management of £2,000 million. 1996 saw two transfers of blocks of life and pensions business from other life companies. First, the transfer of the UK branch of Lifetime (a subsidiary of the Bank of Ireland) and, second, the unit linked life and pensions business of Combined Life (a subsidiary of Aon). Windsor Life continued its acquisition strategy with the purchase of RFSG(UK) plc, which was the holding company for the financial services group of Aegon in January 1998. The direct operating subsidiary of RFSG(UK) plc was Aegon Life Assurance Company Ltd (ALAC). Windsor Life acquired the business of GAN UK plc and its subsidiaries in 1998. In December 2005, the businesses of Reassure UK and Virgin Money Life were transferred to Windsor Life. 
In December 2007 the business of NM Life and NM Pensions Ltd (part ofthe group trading as TomorrowTM and previously known as GE Life Ltd and GE Pensions Ltd) was transferred to Windsor Life. At the same time the new business operations of TomorrowTM were sold to LV=. These acquisitions have expanded the size of the company significantly. From a base point of £75 million in 1987, funds under management have grown to more than £14 billion from January 2008. Windsor Life currently services almost one million policyholders. Since January 2008 Windsor Life has operated out of two offices; one in Telford and the other in Hitchin, Hertfordshire. |
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