Group Results & ReviewJuly 2012 to June 2013

Group Results and ReviewJuly 2012 to June 2013

Executive Chairman’s review ......................................................................................................................................................................................... 420 years of BGL ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 5

Chief Executive’s review ............................................................................................................................................................................................................ 6

Group at a glance ..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 7

Intermediated Businesses ............................................................................................................................................................................................... 8

Frontline - expanding plans ......................................................................................................................................................................................... 9

Bennetts - revving up ........................................................................................................................................................................................................... 10

Junction - partner progress ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 11

Fusion - true calling .................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 12

Product & Panel Development/Pricing - driving force ............................................................................... 13

comparethemarket.com .............................................................................................................................................................................................. 14

comparethemarket.com - lead the market ....................................................................................................................... 15

Brand-led Businesses ............................................................................................................................................................................................................ 16

Beagle Street - breathing new life ........................................................................................................................................................... 17

LesFurets.com - beyond comparison ................................................................................................................................................ 18

Verzekeringssite.nl - dutch courage ..................................................................................................................................................... 19

Legal Services ......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 20

ACM ULR - claims made easy ............................................................................................................................................................................. 21

Minster Law - legal moves ......................................................................................................................................................................................... 22

Company Values .................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 24

Customer care - growing our numbers .............................................................................................................................................. 25

Working for BGL - a rewarding career .................................................................................................................................................. 26

Corporate Social Responsibility - giving back ....................................................................................................................... 28

BGL Group 2012-2013 .............................................................................................................................................................................................................. 30

Brand-led Businesses

Launched in July 2012, a life insurance brand offering cheaper, simpler and more accessible cover for consumers.

The Group’s French consumer price comparison site for car, health, loan, home and motorbike insurance.

The largest independent insurance comparison site in the Netherlands.

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Intermediated businesses

frontlineOperates the Budget and Dial Direct brands offering car, home and van insurance.

The UK’s No. 1 for motorcycle insurance, insuring more than 200,000 bikers.

Assists well-known brands to extend their product offerings into motor and/or home insurance.

Contact centres in Peterborough, Coventry and Sunderland, employing more than 1,250 people.

Legal services

The Group’s claims management service, supporting customers holding a motor, bike or household policy.

Acquired by BGL in 2013, Minster Law is one of the UK’s largest road traffic accident personal injury firms, employing more than 800 people.

comparethemarket.com

The UK’s most recognised price comparison site.

BGL Businesses

Front cover: 10 employees are made very welcome at the school supported by BGL in rural Guatemala

Executive Chairman’s Review Welcome to the 2012/13 Annual Results & Review. Fittingly for our 20th year, it has been a vintage one for the Group: challenging, fruitful and above all, enjoyable. You will gain further insight from our four business ‘pillars’ later in this review, and Matthew gives more detail overleaf.

It was very pleasing to make the announcement about Matthew in the spring. Having joined us back in 1999, rapidly progressing to Group Director and, later, Chief Operating Officer, Matthew has increasingly shaped the Group’s performance, direction and culture. It is a natural step for him to become CEO.

Last summer, Matthew and I, together with the Board set out BGL’s five year strategy. Our four targets concern profit, customer satisfaction, employee engagement and charitable giving. This sums up the BGL approach pretty well. As a business, of course we need to deliver profit and drive growth. But we should never do that to the detriment of our customers, our people or acting responsibly.

As the Group grows, the strategy becomes increasingly vital in unifying the Group around a common set of goals. Creating the Executive Chairman role was an important move in ensuring we embed and evolve that strategy. On behalf of the Main Board I will continue to have a close relationship with Matthew, working with him to steer the Group in the years to come.

Our first 20 years have been fast-paced, successful and fun. Here’s to the next 20!

20 years of BGL: some highlights

1992 Five executives of South African business, Auto and General, form Budget Insurance: a motor insurance underwriter issuing monthly policies, unique to the UK market.

1997 Budget ceases underwriting and becomes an insurance intermediary.

1999 Acquisition of high street brokerage, Arnott Century, increasing customers by 220,000.

2000 We create ACM, the accident claims management arm of the Group.

2001 We acquire Coventry based Dial Direct, a major UK car and motorcycle insurance intermediary, and with it, the Bennetts brand.

2002 We launch our partnerships business, Junction.

2003 Our brands begin offering online insurance quotes.

2005 We reach the milestone of 1 million customers.

2006 Creation of price comparison website, comparethemarket.com.

2007 The Budget Group of Companies becomes the BGL Group.

2010 We acquire French comparison business Courtanet, later rebranded LesFurets.com.

2012 Peter Winslow is awarded the CBE; the Group reaches its three-year objective to donate £1million to good causes; acquisition of Dutch price comparison site Verzekeringssite.nl.

2013 We acquire legal business, Minster Law.

Peter Winslow

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CEO’s review Before I summarise the 2012/13 year I’d like to take a moment to reflect on Peter’s contribution to the success story that is the BGL Group.

Peter took the helm in 1997, and turned the business from a loss-making underwriter into a Group that has delivered growth every year since. The culture he has inspired sets us apart from the average company. I have personally gained a huge amount from working with Peter and know that our excellent working relationship will continue.

Peter has already talked about our five year strategy, which has given us great clarity of vision for the future. We are in the unusual and fortunate position that there is enormous potential for growth in every sector where we operate, and we continue to examine new markets for opportunities.

As a business we have a number of core strengths. Not least, we are independently owned and can take a long-term view in order to deliver our future growth. This year we made significant investments across our existing intermediary and partnerships businesses, as well as our life insurance venture and the two new European comparison sites. This investment strengthens us considerably for the future, and our long-term focus will give the Group the opportunity to double profits in the next five years.

2012/13 has certainly had its challenges. The economy is still unstable, financial services are under close regulatory scrutiny and the pace of technological change has never been faster. It is all the more pleasing, then, to report that our competitive nature has delivered another strong performance. These results are an accomplishment that is testament to the aspiration, drive and commitment of our people. I have great belief in our new Executive Board and am highly optimistic about the future of the Group.

Matthew Donaldson6 7

The Group at a glance:

The BGL Group is structured around four business ‘pillars’:

Total income: £448m

Pre-tax profit: £88m

Income growth: 7%

Customers: 6.6m

Employees: c. 3,000

Offices: 9Coventry, Haarlem, NetherlandsParis, France Peterborough (Fusion House, Pegasus House, Saxon House) Sunderland,Wakefield, York

Intermediated Businesses

JunctionFrontlineBennettsFusionPPDGroup Pricing

comparethe market.com

comparethe market.com

Brand-led Businesses

Beagle StreetLesFurets.comVerzekeringssite.nl

Legal Services

ACMMinster Law

frontline

Expanding plansOn track for growthFrontline is focused very much on growth, and we aim to double customer numbers by 2017. In the year marking our 20th birthday, we have made pleasing progress. We exceeded our profit target and drove customer retention to a five-year high. Refreshing both Budget and Dial Direct brands and sales journeys has also proved fruitful in increasing customer numbers.

One of our primary, short-term goals was to develop our van insurance offering to target becoming market leader. We’ve introduced new elements to our policies, such as a courtesy van and the use of no-claims discounts earned on a car. We also changed our insurer panel structure with four lead insurers to an open panel. Our innovative proposition encourages insurers to write significant business, while driving down prices for customers.

We’ve made equally rewarding progress in home insurance. We have worked with our insurers to improve net prices, re-engineered pricing models and, consequently, finished the year with a record number of customers.

Better data, better pricesOur prices are more competitive than ever, thanks to the BGL Data Hub. The Hub verifies customers’ details at ‘point of quote’, detecting potentially fraudulent activity before the policy is bought. A further 22 data items help insurers rate each customer more accurately. These benefits have improved quality, driving down insurers’ loss ratios and reducing their rates to us. That means lower prices for our customers and sales growth - a ‘triple win’ - for the customer, the insurer and the Group.

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Intermediated Businesses“The Intermediated Businesses provide high quality insurance policies to 2.4 million customers. Partnership is a key element in making that happen. Strong relationships are vital: both externally with our insurers and our Junction partners, and internally between our customer facing businesses and Fusion, Pricing and Product & Panel Development. By focusing on making the best use of our brands, data, technology, agility and expertise, our aim is to make BGL the UK ‘Distributor of Choice’. As you’ll see, we’ve made some great progress this year.”

Peter ThompsonGroup Director, Intermediated Businesses

frontline

Product & Panel Development/Pricing

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The Frontline team have made great progress with our van insurance product this year

Partner progressInnovation and initiativesJunction’s focus this year has been on strengthening our partners’ insurance offerings.

With Post Office, we delivered a ‘Quick Quote’ service giving in-branch customers a home insurance quote in under two minutes. Meanwhile, M&S customers now enjoy a personal claims manager to support them at every stage of the process. Plus, we are working on some significant changes with RAC as part of a new deal signed this year.

We were delighted to sign up a new partner this year, Markerstudy, to launch a new direct car insurance offering under its Zenith brand. This long term partnership will drive rapid customer growth. Significant investments in business development are driving a strong pipeline of prospective new partners.

IT insightAt ‘Affinity 2013’, an industry event we sponsored this summer, we had many interesting conversations across the insurance, retail and banking sectors. Increasingly, businesses are looking to us for help with technology solutions, as their legacy systems prove to be unequipped for future growth. Rapidly implementing IT change is a real strength for Junction, so we anticipate greater activity in this area in years to come.

Revving upInnovating with insurersAs the UK’s number one for bike insurance, we are always seeking innovative ways to remain the bikers’ favourite. This year we introduced cover for classic bikes online, and classics are now included for multi-bike policies. Plus, we now include cover for the most common modifications as standard.

We have implemented BGL’s Data Hub to assist with fraud prevention and risk insight as well as moving to a new open panel model. The approach encourages greater competition between the insurers on the panel in order to offer customers the best prices. Significant net rate reductions have already been secured and quotability has improved from 71% to 78%.These developments take us even further in delivering the specialist experience customers expect from our brand.

Investing in bikersBennetts has a commitment to investing its marketing budget in support of bikers and the biking community. Our own networking site, Bike Social, launched in October and has attracted 210,000 unique visitors, with thousands setting up personal profiles, listing favourite routes and interacting with like-minded peers. This fits alongside ‘Free Classifieds’, launched in 2011.

Bennetts is recognised as having an industry leading Facebook and Twitter presence and its innovative approach to marketing is regularly acclaimed by the marketing press. Our strategy has delivered over £5m in PR value this year.

Our Biking Dreams campaign this year granted wishes including a Las Vegas biker wedding and personal training with a pro bike racer. This and our other unique assets help sustain exceptional levels of brand engagement through online and social discussion.

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Junction present at a key industry event in June 2013Bennetts: lead sponsor for the Classic TT in the Isle of Man

Driving forcePower behind the brandsThe Product and Panel Development (PPD) and Pricing teams are the engine room of the Intermediated Businesses pillar. PPD manages our relationships with insurers, sharing data, implementing technology solutions and bringing BGL’s product strategies to fruition.

The Pricing team develops pricing strategy and analysis to match the objectives of each intermediated business, and identifies new opportunities to drive value.

Distributor of ChoiceA key focus for these teams is their role in making BGL the ‘Distributor of Choice’. There are a number of elements that we feel are vital in achieving that goal:1. Holistic distribution – becoming expert in

every aspect of personal lines distribution (aggregation, legal/claims services, pricing, technology, corporate partnerships, broker-insurer models)

2. Brand portfolio – offering access to unique, good quality customers

3. Independence – seizing new opportunities quickly

4. Unique insight – providing unique customer insights to insurers

5. Operational excellence – ensuring efficient fraud management processes to protect insurers

6. Best in class solutions – providing cost effective, innovative and bespoke technology

7. Enduring partnerships – delivering constructive and transparent relationships

We have been delighted with our progress on the Distributor of Choice programme, which is showing clear results through the performance of our insurer partner portfolio. We will continue to invest in the programme to differentiate our proposition further to our insurer partners.

True callingCustomer careAs the Group’s contact centre business, Fusion handles customer calls for Dial Direct, Budget, Bennetts and Junction partner brands. Fusion’s priority is to provide exceptional customer service with a focus on efficiency, to help keep premiums low.

Each brand is supported by a dedicated team, so that the advisors are true experts and embody each brand’s values. This move has helped improve our ‘customer experience’ measure of satisfaction. On this, we have targeted an improvement of five percentage points across the Intermediated Businesses within the next five years.

People powerThis year we introduced a technology solution that enables better resource management, freeing up advisors in quieter periods to assist with back-office tasks or e-learning. This means we can deliver a better service for our brands and partners, and make best use of our people’s skills.

Our people are a vital asset, and we encourage all Fusion employees to build a career with us. Many senior people within the BGL Group started out in Fusion, and we recognise the value of investing in their development. We run an annual apprentice scheme, taking on 12-13 school leavers and giving them valuable work experience alongside an NVQ qualification in Contact Centre Operations. With the initiative now entering its fourth cohort, more than 90 per cent of apprentices have gone on to take up a permanent advisor role.

Product & Panel Development/Pricing

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A ‘Distributor of Choice’ workshopFusion Sunderland’s latest group of apprentices

comparethemarket.com “We’ve enjoyed another really successful year, having seen record numbers of customers, great innovations and continued growth both in our panel and our people.

“Looking ahead, I am really excited about our future. Our customer experience is second to none, we are leading the market in the mobile space, and the appeal of our advertising goes from strength to strength. Our most important measure, customer feedback, shows that we are by some margin the most popular price comparison site. So we are very well placed to build on our strong position and fulfil our ambition to be the country’s favourite comparison site.”

Paul GalliganManaging Director, comparethemarket.com

Lead the marketDriving successInvesting in our people and our technology has been the key driving force behind our success. Recruiting the right kind of talent to comparethemarket.com and having an IT infrastructure that can deliver speed, stability and agility means we can continue to deliver innovative and engaging customer experiences.

Last year saw comparethemarket.com launch the biggest and arguably the most famous of sponsorships – Coronation Street. The meerkats stepped out onto the famous cobbles in November 2012. The sponsorship itself is beating all performance standards and being heralded as a great success.

Marketing twistChristmas Day saw the introduction of a bold new character called Maurice Wigglethorpe-Throom. Maurice’s dynamic with Aleksandr has delivered an interesting twist to the campaign, and following his launch our market share reached record levels.

The meerkats continue to grow in popularity and our rewards campaign, which thanks customers by giving them a meerkat toy, now sees two million characters in the nation’s homes. We have exciting plans to build upon this and ensure that more customers continue to visit comparethemarket.com.

Ultimately, though, our success depends on our overall proposition. To that end, our focus will remain on making every interaction with our customers a great one; from our advertising, to our onsite experience, right through to enabling our customers to find the right product at the very best price.

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Aleksandr on the famous cobbles of Coronation Street

Brand-led Businesses“It’s been a pivotal year for our Brand-led Businesses. In July 2012 Beagle Street launched to the public and we acquired Dutch comparison site, Verzekeringssite.nl, with LesFurets.com unveiling its new branding and advertising campaign in September. With all three businesses in the embryonic stage of their development it’s both an exciting and challenging time. Each one has made a strong start and we have great confidence in their potential.”

Kal AtwalGroup Director, Brand-led Businesses

Breathing new lifeRevolutionary approachBeagle Street’s aim is to simplify life insurance. By creating a simple online buying process we have removed unnecessary costs and reduced prices to consumers. Customers can now be ‘on cover’ in 11 minutes, as opposed to an average of 11 days with traditional players. Available direct at beaglestreet.com as well as via the leading UK price comparison sites, products available include joint policies and critical illness cover.

Our launch approach focused on building a good presence on comparison sites and the generation of PR both online and offline. Extensive media coverage helped drive both sales and online content.

Building on successOur focus for next year will be on developing our consumer proposition and building an identity for the Beagle Street brand. An innovative marketing approach will enable us to reach a mass audience, to convey that life insurance needn’t be costly or complicated.

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The Beagle Street team outside Pegasus House

Dutch courageMarket opportunityVerzekeringssite.nl was founded in 1999 by Erik Hordijk, after he had difficulty comparing prices for his car insurance. The site has more than 2.5 million visitors each year, each saving on average around €200.

The Netherlands has a strong economy and a well-developed eCommerce market. Direct distribution of both car and health insurance is increasing, with around 50 per cent of Dutch consumers now starting their purchase journey on price comparison sites. Today, however, only 10 per cent actually go on to purchase, so there is still substantial room for growth.

Preparing for growthSince the acquisition in July 2012, our focus has been on ensuring Verzekeringssite.nl’s model benefits both insurers and consumers. Improving both the website and proposition are also key priorities, along with brand development and strengthening the team. The combination of these measures will provide a robust platform for the future growth of the Verzekeringssite.nl business.

Beyond comparisonBrand innovationPreviously known as AssureMieux, LesFurets.com rebranded in April 2012 with the objective of being memorable and distinctive from our competitive set. Les Furets translates as ‘The Ferrets,’ and the premise of the brand is to ferret out the best deals for customers. The advertising, launched in September, introduced deal-seeking Hervé and his team.

The customer response to the campaign has been extremely positive, with research indicating that it is seen as distinctive and engaging. Around 25 per cent of French consumers can spontaneously name us without prompting – a great result for a new brand.

A future of opportunityOur focus for the next 12 months is to build on our brand equity and develop our strategy in line with consumer trends, offering people what they want through the channels they want to engage with. LesFurets.com is in a strong position to educate consumers on the benefits of shopping around, and make it easy and convenient to do so.

The opportunity in France is arguably even greater than that of the UK, and LesFurets.com is in a strong position to drive it forward and reap the benefits.

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The VNL team prepare to race in BGL’s charity Dragon Boat TournamentHerve in a pirate-themed TV ad

Claims made easyRevolutionary approachACM manages a network of partners, including Minster Law, to support BGL Group customers in the event of a claim. The claims industry has been under close scrutiny in recent months as regulators explore the causes of insurance price rises. We have been very active in clarifying our approach to partners, insurers and regulators, to reassure them that we take a responsible stance.

Claims farming, selling of customer data and mass texting have damaged our sector’s reputation, where the priority should be simply to get the customer back to where they were before their claim. Ongoing consultations could have an impact on both our customer propositions and generally, consumers’ access to justice, and we are keeping a close eye on developments.

An eventful yearAside from regulation, 2012 brought further challenges when a major supplier went into administration. We made significant investment to ensure that customers were well looked after.

Our experience and strong partnerships offer a real asset to businesses outside the BGL Group, and we secured significant new clients this year. Customers of A-Plan who call to report a motor claim are all managed by ACM’s expert network. We were pleased to retain business from RAC as part of its renewed contract with Junction, and became National Accident Helpline’s largest Legal Services partner.

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Legal Services“With regulatory changes taking hold and the integration of a new business into the Group, these have been exciting times! The legislation change to allow non-legal firms to own law companies has opened up big opportunities for us as a Group, and together with Minster Law we are exploring our options to widen our legal offering to customers. This has been a real milestone year for BGL.”

David DownieGroup Director, Legal Services

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The ACM team outside its office at Saxon House

Legal movesNew to the BGL family Acquired in Summer 2013 as part of the biggest ‘alternative business structure’ in the UK to date, the newest business to the BGL Group is Minster Law.

A top 35 law firm, Minster has been working with BGL since 2006. When any BGL customer needs to make a claim, calling the number on their policy document puts them straight through to Minster Law advisors. They are then expertly guided through the next steps on their claim, from contacting the underwriter on their policy, to being offered medical assistance, legal advice, a replacement car or repairs.

Legal expertiseEmploying more than 800 people and handling more than 40,000 personal injury claims in the last financial year, Minster Law offers help and advice in a range of legal areas including personal injury, employment, wills, probate and conveyancing.

Like BGL, Minster Law has experienced strong growth in recent years. The combination of Minster’s expertise and BGL’s proven track record of innovation suggests significant potential for expansion. The focus for next year will be to welcome and integrate Minster’s people to the Group, and agree a robust strategy for future growth.

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we aim to double customer numbers by 2017Frontline

seeking innovative ways to remain the bikers’ favouriteBennetts

provide exceptional customer service with a focus on efficiencyFusion

deliver innovative and engaging customer experiencescomparethemarket.com

strengthening our partners’ insurance offeringsJunction

making BGL the ‘Distributor of Choice’Product & Panel Development/Pricing

simplify life insurance by creating a simple online buying processBeagle Street

the site has has more than 2.5 million visitors each yearVerzekeringssite.nl

we have been very active in clarifying our approach to partners, insurers and regulatorsACM

biggest ‘alternative business structure’ in the UK to dateMinster Law

25 per cent of French consumers can spontaneously name us without promptingLesFurets.com

Employees at Minster Law’s Wakefield office

Company Values

Just… be genuine“Transparency and trust are pre-requisites of success, so it’s important to be authentic. If you treat others as you’d like to be treated yourself - openly, honestly and with courtesy - you’ll never go wrong.”

Just… be creative“Anyone can have a good idea and the simplest are the best. The trick is to think differently, push the boundaries and turn the best ideas into reality.”

Just… be someone who makes a difference“The most satisfying thing is being able to look back on something you’ve done and feel good about your contribution. Seeing the bigger picture, without losing sight of the detail, is key to our success.”

Just… be encouraging“You feel much more positive when someone tells you that you’ve done a good job. We value and reward high performance. It’s important that we support and recognise this.”

Just… care for the customer“Consider, deliver and protect what is important for the customer.”

Just… be united“It’s amazing how much stronger and more effective a bunch of people can be if they all work together using their unique qualities and talents.”

Just… be happy“Enjoying what we do and having fun doing it is very much in the spirit of the BGL Group.”

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Customer careGrowing our numbersCustomer growth this year is something the Group is very proud of. Improving our online journeys and ongoing development to the service we offer telephone customers have been important factors in the increase.

But we’re not just interested in attracting new customers – we want to keep existing ones too. Price comparison sites have made it easy for people to shop around and find new policies to suit their needs. That’s great news for comparethemarket.com, but it also means that our other insurance brands must work harder to give people a reason to stay with their provider.

Both Budget and Bennetts are enjoying the highest retention levels in five years, with similar gains in loyalty across the Junction brands.

Part of our success here is that we are more focused than ever on customer satisfaction. Two years ago we began using Net Promoter Score as a means of measuring how people feel about our brands. We are aiming to increase these scores by five percentage points on every brand within five years.

Online As part of our customer focus, this year we have invested in making web journeys simple and appealing across any consumer device, from smartphones to tablets. We have also developed ‘online self-service’ for customers – with registrations now coming from around 80 per cent of new customers and reaching the million mark this year. Originally introduced in 2010, self-service enables customers to view their policy details, manage payments and download documents via the internet, without the need to speak to a telephone advisor.

Developments this year mean that customers can now make changes online, from address or vehicle details to adding and removing drivers. Customer adoption of this new service has been positive, with over 10 per cent of all changes already made online.

Just… care for the customer“Consider, deliver and protect what is important for the customer.”

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Beagle Street customers, the Samuels family

Working for BGL “Since joining in January 2013 I have been struck by the exceptional standards within the Group, delivered by forward-thinking, approachable BGL people. Employees here create real team spirit, by taking accountability, living our values and getting great results. We are currently developing a long-term people strategy so that, through attracting, developing and deploying the right people and further strengthening our culture of leadership and recognition, we will win together.”

Catherine LynchGroup HR Director

A rewarding careerCareer development Every employee is encouraged to set and achieve their individual career goals. We have a formal learning and development approach, which includes:• Apprenticeship schemes for young people

seeking careers in contact centre services• NVQ opportunities for all Fusion employees• Management development programmes

accredited by the Institute of Leadership and Management and Chartered Management Institute

• Skills-based workshops for all employees – e.g. interpersonal skills, planning and organising, commercial acumen

• Funding for professional and technical development

The Group this year recruited a number of marketing graduates, to develop skills and prepare for growing demand from the business.

Emily Grocock, a 2012 BGL graduate, said: “I spent the majority of my first 12 months at comparethemarket.com. I have developed professional skills in media management and forecasting processes around a nationally recognised brand. I was thrilled to be asked to relocate to Paris, working for LesFurets.com. I am facing new, exciting challenges, as the brand is still in its infancy. The second year is set to be just as much fun and even more challenging than the first!”

Rewarded and valued Working for the Group is unique because of initiatives such as:• A company-wide Awards Ball, available to all

3,000 employees• A free local Fun Day for employees, family

and friends• Free fruit, on-site subsidised osteopathy

and sports massage, free health checks and various workshops as part of a ‘My Wellbeing’ programme

• A prize draw for all employees, with ten prizes per month ranging from an iPad to a top prize worth £3,000

• Subsidised restaurants and coffee shops at every site

Getting it rightEmployee views are vital to the company’s future and we conduct a regular employee survey to measure people’s feelings about working for BGL. Three years ago our ‘employee engagement’ score was 58% against an average of 41% for financial services organisations. BGL’s score last year was 76% - three percentage points above our target. High calibre, global corporates score an average of 83% and, by 2017, we are aiming to reach 85%.

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Employees’ children enjoy the BGL Fun Day

IndividualAll BGL employees are entitled to a day’s paid leave for volunteering each year. In the past 12 months a total of 165 people donated more than 1,500 hours of their time to support the Great Fen Project, the Wildlife Trust and various local schools, councils and community centres.

We encourage employees to raise money for causes close to their own hearts. Through our match-funding approach, we contributed almost £25,000 towards employees’ individual charitable activity this year. We also made a corporate donation to Unicef to support children in Syria.

CityOur City Committees donated almost £80,000 to good causes this year. Charities supported include Coventry Foodbank, Grace House Hospice in Sunderland and Young Lives in Peterborough.

Our successful schools partnerships continue, with pupils from Peterborough’s Orton Bushfield Academy joining us for CV and interview workshops, work experience and commercial insight. Two school leavers were appointed to Fusion in September 2012 and have made a great start to their careers.

In Sunderland, we have funded a library and reading programme for Highfield Primary School, which played a tangible role in improving the school’s latest OFSTED report to ‘Good’.

We also support The Great Fen Project, a major environmental initiative near our Peterborough office, both financially and through volunteering.

NationalBGL employees are exceptional in their appetite to get involved, and, because of this, we have formed a unique partnership with The Prince’s Trust. The Group is providing both a corporate donation and volunteering to support disadvantaged young people in finding work and education.

Since launch, 161 employees have registered for the three developmental programmes offered, with 33 delivering the Trust’s one day workshops. Our support has so far benefited 139 local young people. Eleven BGL employees are now trained as Progression/Business Mentors and are being paired with young people in need of support.

InternationalBGL is funding new schools and clinics in worldwide locations that need support. This year we worked with charity partner, Plan UK, to build pre-schools and ‘learn through play’ centres in Guatemala.

10 employees, selected because of their personal contribution to good causes, travelled to Guatemala in April to visit the BGL funded pre-schools and meet the communities that have benefited from the Group’s support. This highly rewarding experience spurred on the Group’s fundraising, and BGL donated a total of £149,000 to Plan UK, exclusively funding four pre-schools and creating 18 ‘learn through play’ centres – almost double the original target.

The main fundraising project this year was a company-wide Dragon Boat Tournament, a fun and competitive day enjoyed by employees, family and friends.

Giving back Reducing poverty, creating prosperityGiving something back to the community is a vital part of who we are at BGL. In July 2012, as part of the Group’s business strategy, we set a target to raise £3m for good causes by 2017. The overall theme of our CSR activity is ‘poverty reduction’.

There are four elements to our CSR strategy:

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Two students from a school in Guatemala supported by BGL’s fundraising

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Thank youWe would like to thank all BGL employees and friends who appear in the photographs for the BGL Annual Review.

BGL Group July 2012 - June 2013

The BGL Group Limited, Pegasus House, Bakewell Road, Peterborough, PE2 6YSTel: 01733 845555 Fax: 01733 845150 Website: www.bglgroup.co.uk

The contents of this document relate to the insurance intermediary and related businesses of members of the BGL Group of Companies.