Ryan Direct Group acquires Assurant Intermediary

Ryan Direct Group (RDG), the leading insurance services business based in Doncaster, has announced that it is to acquire the entire share capital of Assurant Intermediary Limited, a subsidiary of Assurant Group Limited, along with its 55,000 policies and £20m GWP home and protection books for an undisclosed acquisition price. The deal, which is subject to regulatory approval, is expected to complete by the end of 2014.

Following completion the company will be renamed and branded RDG Intermediary.

Derek Coles, RDG’s chief executive, said. “This is an important deal that gives RDG scale and presence in the IFA and mortgage broker-led home and protection market, alongside our existing partnership with Uinsure. We are adding significant premium to our fast growing home book, and it will extend the group’s reach into the mortgage industry, which is now firmly out of recession.”

On the household book, Mr Coles said the deal complemented RDG’s strong presence in home and property through the Fortress home insurance brand, which offers home insurance products for Brokers and Affinity partners to either sell direct to their customer or as part of a home insurance panel solution.

Mr Coles said the business’s commercial director, Vicky Hodgson, will continue to run the day to day business under the new RDI brand as well as joining the wider RDG management team. “The strategic rationale is compelling,” he said, adding: “We have always maintained that we are interested in acquisition opportunities that add a strategic and long term value to our overall product and service offering, and the business ticks all the right boxes.”

He explained that mortgage market has benefitted from the resurgence in confidence following the recession and post RDR; as such now is a good time to increase the RDG’s footprint in this key market. “This is a specialty market, highly regulated, and so plays to our core strengths,” he said, adding: “We also believe we can extend our proposition through our Life MGA Lutine, which sells personal protection and life cover through IFAs.” 

Mr Coles said that the acquisition, alongside the group’s existing relationship with Uinsure, gave RDG significant scale and market position in the mortgage sector. “Rapid changes in the mortgage sector are driving significant change, including consolidation, where we are now leading the way. Our combined business must be the market leader in terms of new policy sales.”