Legal & General Grows Pet Insurance by Acquiring Buddies Enterprise Limited

KENT, United Kingdom, Oct. 17 -- Legal and General Group, a provider of insurance, savings and investment management products, issued the following news release:

The UK pet insurance sector now accounts for Pounds1bn of gross written premiums and has grown at a compound annual rate of 9% over the last 5 years. However, more than half the pet owners in the UK still have no insurance cover against vet bills and other associated costs.

Legal & General's Petonomics report, which looks at how the pet market contributes to the wider UK economy, has found that the typical dog owner spends Pounds198 a year on medical expenses, with cat owners paying on average Pounds97 a year. There is therefore a significant opportunity for further growth to be achieved by combining Buddies' specialist product and distribution expertise with Legal & General's multi-channel distribution and broad customer base.

Buddies Enterprises Limited is a privately owned, UK-based provider of pet insurance products and specialises in working with breeders and their customers.

Cheryl Agius, CEO General Insurance, Legal & General, said:

"We are delighted to announce our acquisition of Buddies - part of our continued expansion into broader distribution channels across the pet insurance market. Buddies is 'best of breed' in the pet insurance sector and bringing their expertise into Legal & General will enable us to give pet-owning customers, a wider choice of insurers and products with which to address the sometimes surprisingly high costs of pet ownership."

Marianne Metaxas, Managing Director, Buddies, said:

"We are thrilled to be part of Legal & General and look forward to further developing the successful business we have established. Regulatory focus on the pet market and the desire for increased consumer choice mean that there are exciting opportunities ahead. With Legal & General's reputation as a highly focused customer brand and its strength in direct sales, we are in a great position to deliver a range of innovative products across this growing market."

The acquisition by Legal & General's General Insurance division, is for an undisclosed price and will complete upon receipt of FCA approval.

About Legal & General

Established in 1836, Legal & General is a leading provider of insurance, savings and investment management products in the UK. The Group has a market capitalisation of Pounds16.1bn as at 2 August 2017 and is responsible for investing Pounds951bn worldwide as at 30 June 2017 on behalf of investors, policyholders and shareholders.

Legal & General has nearly ten million customers in the UK for life assurance, pensions, investments and general insurance plans and over one million customers in the US who rely on us for life assurance.

About Buddies

Buddies is owned by a small entrepreneurial management team who identified an opportunity in the market to offer an insurance product to pet breeders. They are one of the few players in the point of entry market and have built up an attractive distribution market through their network of around 1,500 active breeders.

The Buddies management team have a deep understanding of this area of the market and have established a strong e2e distribution/servicing capability. Their knowledge, growth ambitions and entrepreneurial approach will complement L&G's capabilities & market reach.

The team have created a lean operating model, consisting of a field and desk-based salesforce, an in-house support function and a cost effective outsourced claim review model with Capita (utilising Eastern European vet nurses within their operations.)