Scottish Widows

Scottish Widows plc
Type	Subsidiary
Industry	Financial Services
Headquarters	Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom
Key people	Lord Leitch, Chairman; Toby Strauss, Group Director Insurance
Products	Life insurance; Pensions; Investments; Savings
Employees	3,500 (2011)
Parent	Lloyds Banking Group
Website	www.scottishwidows.co.uk

Scottish Widows plc is a life, pensions and investment company located in Edinburgh, Scotland, and is a subsidiary of Lloyds Banking Group. Its product range includes life assurance, pensions, investments and savings. The company has been providing financial services to the UK market since 1815 and is the most trusted life, pensions and investment provider in the UK according to a 2010 Ipsos study.² The company sells products through independent financial advisers, direct to customers and through Lloyds Banking Group bank branches.

History

In March 1812, a number of prominent Scotsmen gathered in the Royal Exchange Coffee Rooms in Edinburgh. They were there to discuss setting up ‘a general fund for securing provisions to widows, sisters and other female relatives’ of fundholders so that they would not be plunged into poverty on the death of the fundholder during and after the Napoleonic Wars. Scottish Widows Fund and Life Assurance Society opened in 1815 as Scotland's first mutual life office.

Scottish Widows demutualised and was sold to Lloyds TSB for approximately £7 billion on 3 March 2000. At the time of its takeover, Scottish Widows set up an "additional account" to hold £1.7 billion of the proceeds from the sale. This fund was to be used to enhance terminal bonuses across the company, but was eventually used to compensate guaranteed annuity rate options (GARs) holders.

Scottish widows advert from 1878

In April 2009, Lloyds Banking Group announced that the sales team of Clerical Medical would be merged into that of Scottish Widows, and the Clerical Medical brand would eventually be phased out.³

The Scottish Widow

Scottish Widows Headquarters, Morrison Street, Edinburgh

Three models have played the Scottish Widow, a hooded character featured in the company's advertising. The original Widow chosen to portray the company’s brand values in the memorable ‘Looking Good’ commercial in 1986 was Deborah Moore (the daughter of Roger Moore). In 1994, Amanda Lamb took over the role and portrayed the Widow through a period of immense change in financial services. Hayley Hunt became the third and current Scottish Widow in 2005.

TV advertising

The Scottish Widow first appeared in a television advert directed by David Bailey in 1986. Since then, Scottish Widows has made 10 adverts featuring the Scottish Widow.⁴ Scottish Widows was also the first company to launch a national television campaign celebrating the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. These adverts have made the Widow the most popular icon in the protection, pensions and investments markets.

Sponsorships

Scottish Widows was the Official Pensions and Investment Provider of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.⁵ The company employs athletes Roger Black MBE and Sarah Storey OBE as their Olympic Ambassadors.⁶ Roger and Sarah promote the involvement of Scottish Widows in the London 2012 Games, across the country.

References

^ Scottish Widows staff (www.scottishwidows.co.uk/about_us/who_we_are/our_brand.html)
^ IPSOS brand tracking study 2010
^ Jonathan Russell (29 April 2009). "Lloyds cuts 305 jobs and drops Clerical". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 17 March 2013.
^ Scottish Widows adverts (www.scottishwidows.co.uk/tv/advertising)
^ Scottish Widows London 2012 site (www.scottishwidows.co.uk/london 2012)
^ Scottish Widows Ambassadors(www.scottishwidows.co.uk/london2012/ambassadors)