Countrywide Assured

What Countrywide Assured does

Countrywide Assured plc is a UK-licensed life assurance and pensions provider that administers closed-book portfolios of long-term savings, pension, and protection policies. Founded in 1988 and headquartered in Preston, Lancashire, the company is wholly owned by Chesnara plc, which is listed on the London Stock Exchange. Countrywide Assured is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by both the PRA and the Financial Conduct Authority. Its policy base has grown through repeated Part VII transfers from predecessor insurers including Premium Life, Save & Prosper, City of Westminster Assurance, Protection Life (formerly Direct Line Life), Tesco Life, CASLP Ltd (transferred 31 December 2023), and Canada Life's individual protection book (transferred 23 February 2025), with Canada Life's unit-linked bonds and legacy pensions expected to transfer on 27 July 2026.

The company's product suite spans unitised with-profits and traditional with-profits pensions, unit-linked savings, endowments, term assurance, critical illness cover, income protection, the tax-efficient Onshore Bond wrapper, OneSIPP, and the Transfer Pension Portfolio (Section 32). Investment management is outsourced to Schroders (with a recent transition of active funds from Sanlam Investment UK to Ninety One), while with-profits policy decisions are managed in partnership with ReAssure Limited (part of Phoenix Group), subject to an independent With Profits Committee. Customer servicing is delivered through proprietary digital infrastructure: "The Portal" (via Porthos) for self-directed policy management and the "Platform" (via Hubwise) for adviser-mediated administration, supplemented by an Adviser Hub for new Onshore Bond business routed exclusively through independent financial advisers.

Revenue is generated principally through recurring fees on assets under administration — an annual management charge of 1% on unitised with-profits fund values, an administration/policy charge, a benefits charge, and a guarantee charge — alongside transactional bid/offer spreads and surrender/transfer penalties. Distribution is hybrid: complex and new business flows through the IFA channel (Adviser Hub with DocuSign onboarding), while servicing and information access are direct-to-consumer via the website and customer portals. Customer reunification exercises (using tracing partner Equiniti) are also conducted to recover lost policyholders, adding incremental AUM and recurring fee revenue.

Name

Countrywide Assured

Legal name

Countrywide Assured plc

Website

https://countrywideassured.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1988

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Countrywide Assured plc is a UK-regulated, FCA/PRA-authorised closed-book life and pensions administrator, wholly owned by Chesnara plc, that manages unit-linked, with-profits, and protection policies acquired from multiple predecessor insurers and serves individual policyholders and IFAs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Life Insurance and Pensions

NAICS

Direct Life, Health, and Medical Insurance Carriers (52411), Pension Funds (52511)

SIC

Life Insurance (6311)

akta.pro primary industry

Managed Account Platforms (Separately Managed Accounts / Customized Portfolios) (FSAHAKAC)

Keywords

• Life insurance products
• Pension administration
• Closed book management
• With profits policies
• Protection insurance

Headquarters

HQ city

Preston

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices7 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Annual Management Charge: An annual management charge of 1% of the fund value is calculated daily based on the value of the investment fund, covering the cost of managing investments and administration. The charge is deducted when pricing the fund rather than by selling units from the plan.
2. Administration Charge (Policy Charge): Covers the cost of looking after the policy until maturity or retirement date. Applicable to unitised with-profits pension plans.
3. Benefits Charge: Covers the cost of providing the policy's benefits. Deducted as specified in the Annual Statement.
4. Bid/Offer Spread: The spread between bid (selling) and offer (buying) prices of investment units contributes to the cost of investing contributions into the investment fund.
5. Surrender and Transfer Charges: Charges applied when a policy is surrendered before the maturity date or transferred to another provider before the selected retirement date.
6. Guarantee Charge: Covers the cost of maintaining a plan's guarantee, deducted from the With Profits investment. The estimated annual management charge takes this into account.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Countrywide Assured plc is a UK life assurance and pension provider that administers and manages long-term savings, pensions, and protection policies, including with-profits and unit-linked investment products. The company primarily manages a closed book of legacy life and pension policies acquired from multiple predecessor insurers including Premium Life, Save & Prosper, City of Westminster Assurance, CASLP, and Canada Life. It also distributes a new Onshore Bond product through independent financial advisers and operates online portals (The Portal and Platform) for policy management and fund administration.

Product overview

Countrywide Assured is a UK-based financial services company offering a comprehensive portfolio of life insurance, pension, and savings products. The core product suite comprises Pensions (retirement planning and annuity options), Savings (unit linked and with profits policies), and Protection (term assurance, critical illness cover, and income protection). The company operates the Portal and Platform online systems for investment management, and offers specialized products including OneSIPP (self-invested personal pension), Onshore Bond (tax-efficient wrapper), and Transfer Pension Portfolio. Investment management is handled by Schroders with fund distribution through Ninety One. The company has acquired and integrated policies from multiple providers including CASLP, Canada Life, Save & Prosper, and Premium Life.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• OneSIPP: Self-invested personal pension product for former CASLP clients.
• Onshore Bond
• Transfer Pension Portfolio (TPP)
• Portal
• Platform

Products and services

• Pensions Pension products offering retirement planning, pension transfers, and annuity purchase options for individual policyholders, including traditional and unitised with-profits pension plans.
• Savings Savings policies including unit-linked and with-profits savings products offering maturity and surrender options for individual policyholders.
• Protection Life insurance and protection products including term assurance, critical illness cover, and income protection for individual policyholders.
• With Profits With profits policies that pool policyholders' money for long-term investment, offering smoothed returns, guaranteed minimum amounts, and bonus distributions managed with ReAssure Limited.
• Onshore Bond Tax-efficient investment wrapper available for individuals and trusts, distributed exclusively through independent financial advisers via the Adviser Hub.
• OneSIPP Self-Invested Personal Pension allowing investors to benefit from a wide range of asset classes including direct investments and funds, available to former CASLP clients and other eligible policyholders.
• Transfer Pension Portfolio (TPP) Section 32 transfer pension portfolio helping policyholders maintain and protect existing retirement assets and benefits transferred from other pension arrangements.
• The Portal Online portal supporting standard or less complex investment requirements, allowing customers to manage their policies and build portfolios within tax-efficient wrappers.
• Platform Online self-service platform (delivered via Hubwise) working with financial advisers to meet personal circumstances and requirements for standard or less complex investment needs.

Quantifiable outcome

• Canada Life Individual Protection book successfully transferred on 23 February 2025
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• The Money CharityminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Three-year partnership (starting 2025) with Chesnara plc and Countrywide Assured providing funding towards delivery of financial education workshops to empower people with skills, knowledge, attitudes and behaviours to manage money.
• ReAssure Limited (formerly Guardian Assurance plc)coreTechnology or IntegrationReAssure manages Countrywide Assured's with-profits business (except for Save & Prosper funds). ReAssure makes all decisions on bonuses, fund investment policy, and surrender values, while Countrywide Assured administers the policies and retains responsibility for providing policy benefits. ReAssure is part of the Phoenix Group.
• Schroders Investment ManagementcoreTechnology or IntegrationSchroders is the fund manager for Countrywide Assured's investment funds. They operate from 32 locations globally and invest customer money in chosen funds. Schroders also provides sustainable investment reports and quarterly investment reports for the balanced managed investing fund.
• Ninety OnecoreTechnology or IntegrationNinety One is an active global investment manager taking over management of assets previously managed by Sanlam Investment UK. Affected funds include SIP European Equity, SIP Gilt-Edged, SIP Far East, SIP Interest, SIP International Equity, SIP Japan Equity, SIP Managed, SIP North American Equity, SIP Property, and SIP UK Equity. Some funds will see a reduction in fund management fees.
• Hubwise (Platform)coreTechnology or IntegrationHubwise provides the Platform product that works with financial advisers and customers for personal circumstances and requirements, especially those with standard or less complex investment needs or building portfolios within tax-efficient wrappers.
• PorthoscoreTechnology or IntegrationOnline portal providing The Portal for policy management and daily fund prices for pension and investment policies, including former CASLP clients.
• 10,000 Black Interns FoundationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to deliver development opportunities for underrepresented young Black talent across the UK. Interns can make meaningful contributions to the business while acquiring skills and knowledge to launch their careers.
• Slaughter and MayminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerLegal solicitors engaged for the Canada Life to Countrywide Assured Part VII transfer process. Contact: One Bunhill Row, London EC1Y 8YY.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• LV= (Liverpool Victoria): UK mutual life and pensions provider with a sizeable protection, pension, and savings book. Comparable across core products and an occasional counterparty in UK closed-book transactions.
• Phoenix Group Holdings: LSE-listed UK closed-life consolidator and parent of ReAssure. Operates a similar model of acquiring and administering closed life and pension books, providing a direct strategic and scale benchmark for Countrywide Assured and its parent Chesnara.
• Scottish Widows (Lloyds Banking Group): UK life, pension, and savings brand owned by Lloyds Banking Group with a substantial with-profits and unit-linked book. Comparable product mix and customer base to Countrywide Assured.
• Aviva plc: One of the UK's largest life, pension, and savings providers with significant closed and open books. Overlaps with Countrywide Assured across pensions, savings, and protection products and is a frequent counterparty in Part VII transfers.
• Legal & General Group: Major UK life insurance, pensions, and investment provider with both open and closed life businesses. Comparable across pensions, savings, and platform propositions and an active participant in UK closed-book M&A.
• Quilter plc: UK wealth manager with a heritage life and pensions book and adviser platform business. Comparable via adviser distribution (like the Onshore Bond) and UK pension administration capabilities.

Direct peers

• Just Group plc: UK specialist in retirement income, annuities, and closed-book life and pension administration. Comparable product set (pensions, with-profits, protection) and comparable focus on the UK closed-book consolidation market.
• ReAssure Limited: UK closed-book life and pensions consolidator within Phoenix Group that already manages Countrywide Assured's with-profits business. Highly comparable in product mix (with-profits, unit-linked, pensions) and acquisition-led strategy.

Others

• Canada Life UK: UK life and pensions arm currently transferring books TO Countrywide Assured via Part VII schemes. Sister entity in the wider Great-West Lifeco group with comparable product set and a direct counterparty in Countrywide's M&A pipeline.
• Hubwise (Transact platform business): Platform provider already integrated with Countrywide Assured's Platform proposition. Comparable as a technology/infrastructure peer in the UK adviser-platform and SIPP ecosystem rather than a direct competitor.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/countrywide-assured

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Countrywide Assured