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The Refuge Assurance Company Ltd. was a
/ref> In 1987, the company decided to move out of the city centre to new, purpose-built, offices in the grounds of Fulshaw Hall in
/ref> After disappointing performances following the merger, the United Assurance Group was first approached by Britannic Assurance in November 1999, and then by
The Refuge Assurance Company Ltd. was a life insurance
Life insurance (or life assurance, especially in the Commonwealth of Nations) is a contract between an insurance policy holder and an insurer or assurer, where the insurer promises to pay a designated beneficiary a sum of money upon the death ...
and pensions
A pension (, from Latin ''pensiō'', "payment") is a fund into which a sum of money is added during an employee's employment years and from which payments are drawn to support the person's retirement from work in the form of periodic payments ...
company based 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 ...
. It was founded by James Proctor and George Robins in Dukinfield
Dukinfield is a town in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England, on the south bank of the River Tame opposite Ashton-under-Lyne, east of Manchester. At the 2011 Census, it had a population of 19,306.
Within the boundaries of the historic co ...
, Cheshire
Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's coun ...
in 1858. The company was originally known by the unwieldy name of the Refuge Friend in Deed Life Assurance and Sick Fund Friendly Society.
From 1895 until 1987, its head office was the magnificent Grade II* listed
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern I ...
, Refuge Assurance Building
The Kimpton Clocktower Hotel is a historic commercial building, now a hotel, at the corner of Oxford Street and Whitworth Street in Manchester, England. The building was originally constructed in segments from 1891 to 1932 as the Refuge Assurance ...
on Oxford Street in central 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 City of Salford, Salford to ...
, now used as the Kimpton Clocktower Hotel.Manchester Online/ref> In 1987, the company decided to move out of the city centre to new, purpose-built, offices in the grounds of Fulshaw Hall in
Wilmslow
Wilmslow ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England, south of Manchester city centre. The population was 24,497 at the 2011 Census.
History
Toponymy
Wilmslow derives its name from O ...
, around 12 miles south of the old Refuge Building. In October 1996, the Refuge Assurance Company merged with United Friendly to form the United Assurance Group (UAG).Details of Refuge and United Friendly merger/ref> After disappointing performances following the merger, the United Assurance Group was first approached by Britannic Assurance in November 1999, and then by
Royal London Mutual Insurance Society
The Royal London Mutual Insurance Society Limited, along with its subsidiaries, is the largest mutual insurer in the United Kingdom, with Group funds under management of over £150 billion. Group businesses provide around nine million polic ...
in February 2000. Following successful talks, Royal London took over UAG for £1.6 billion.
Notes