2007 Brings Continued Growth for Wesleyan

Wesleyan Assurance Society, the financial services specialists for the medical, dental, legal and teaching professions, today announced a 76% increase in sales of With Profits bonds during 2007.

The Society also achieved a 24.9% increase in new annualised premiums*, after allowing for exceptional items.

Craig Errington, Wesleyan’s Chief Executive said, “2007 has been a year of steady and successful growth for Wesleyan. As the general economic outlook remains uncertain, people will want to think carefully about where to invest their cash.

Wesleyan’s with profits bonds were very successful last year and remain an attractive option for the cautious investor. A look at the performance tables shows that our with profits investments offer some of the best returns in the industry.

“Wesleyan’s financial strength underpins our success in the with profits market; also as a mutual we are able to pass on any profits directly to our customers as there are no shareholders to consider.”

The following table shows how Wesleyan’s With Profits bond payouts compare with the industry.

Competitive position of unitised With Profits bonds, 1 August 2007

Source: Moneyfacts, October 2007. The values were calculated assuming a single premium of £25,000.

Other key successes in 2007 included:

The launch of Wesleyan for Lawyers; a new brand created to provide holistic financial services and products to legal professionals. Rolled out in the West Midlands in July, the new sales force exceeded their end-of-year target.

Developing an in-house Self Invested Personal Pension (SIPP), designed to meet the specific needs of Wesleyan’s main client groups.

The SIPP provides clients with a wide choice of investments to build up a pension fund and offers flexible options for the way that pensions benefits are taken at retirement.

Winner in the category “Most Effective Customer Segmentation Strategy” at the ifs Financial Innovation awards, overcoming tough competition from HSBC and Royal Bank of Scotland.

The launch of a Mutual Rewards Scheme with 86,000 members receiving a £100 cash back voucher.

Wesleyan Bank won the contract to exclusively market personal loans to members of the National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT).

Wesleyan for Professionals was appointed to act as preferred providers of motor and commercial insurance services for UK members of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).

Mr Errington continued, “The launch of a new distribution brand, Wesleyan for Lawyers, has opened up a new market for us and we are extremely pleased with the response from the Midlands legal community to the service.

We’ve also developed a new affinity with RICS and strengthened our relationship with NASUWT, increasing the presence of our brands across sectors.

The response to the new SIPP has been promising and we have set ambitious targets for this product in 2008, which we feel confident that we can meet.

“While we recognise that there are challenges ahead for 2008 as economic uncertainty continues, I’m confident that Wesleyan has solid foundations in place that will allow us to move forward and flourish in our chosen markets.”

*New annual premiums plus 10% of single premiums.

For more information and interviews please contact:

Bernadette Bogan or Navdeep Bhatti 0121 200 9606
Wesleyan Press Office press@wesleyan.co.uk

Sophie Hull 0207 404 9660
Vanbrugh Communications

Notes to Editors:

Wesleyan Assurance Society is a mutual assurance society, founded in 1841. The core values throughout the organisation are Insight, Performance and Trust.

Wesleyan offers specialist financial advice to hospital doctors, GPs, dentists, teachers and lawyers, through its principal distribution brands Wesleyan Medical Sickness, Wesleyan for Teachers and Wesleyan for Lawyers.

The Wesleyan Group has in excess of £4 billion of funds under management as at 31 December 2007.

In 2007 Wesleyan Assurance Society won the ifs Financial Innovation Awards 2007 for Most Effective Customer Segmentation Strategy.

Wesleyan is one of the UK’s financially strongest mutuals, receiving a ten-out-of- ten rating for three consecutive years in the Cazalet Consulting survey of With Profits offices.

Wesleyan came first for realistic free asset ratio (the most significant measure of financial strength for With Profit insurers) in the most recent Ernst & Young review of UK Life Insurance Companies.

Wesleyan came second in Money Management’s most recent financial strength survey (August 2007).

Wesleyan is one of only four UK life companies to receive a rating of Excellent for Financial Strength by A.M Best, a global credit rating organisation.