Three insurance company is a based in the United Kingdom. It is a subsidiary of Lloyd’s of London, which forms the largest specialist insurance market in the world. The company provides general and life insurance products for personal customers and businesses in the United Kingdom.
Three has been trading for over 250 years, managing risk for underwriting customers around the world – especially those with rates of return that are considered very low by conventional standards.
What is Three insurance company?
Three has a long and distinguished history in the insurance world. In fact, it can be traced back to the late 1700s when it was founded as the first specialist insurance company in London.
Three is now one of two operating insurance businesses within Lloyd’s (along with Legge).
It is also one of three market-making businesses within Lloyd’s (along with Legge and Facia). The other business is called ‘Lloyd’s’ and it offers specialist products like reinsurance to financial institutions around the world.
Why are Three and Lloyd’s different?
From a customer perspective, there are some obvious differences between the two. In particular, Car Insurance customers will find that their needs are better catered for by the car insurance market. Similarly, Life Insurance customers will find that their needs are better catered for by the life insurance market.
The key to understanding the differences between Three and Lloyd’s is in the organization of the market. Whereas life insurance is really just one market, with many players competing for business within it, car insurance is a much more complex picture.
Structurally, life insurance involves four different markets. (1) It’s like a car insurance market within a car insurance market – but not one that you can buy from your local high street dealer.
Benefits
- First and last-mile transportation insurance. This is a market that provides protection against both vehicle breakdown, and repair.
- Third-party property damage, theft, and loss of vital documents (or other items).
- Life insurance – covering both the death of the insured, as well as the financial needs of their dependents.
- Long-term care insurance – for people who are living with a health condition that is likely to result in long-term care needs in later life.
- Substance abuse coverage – for people whose addiction can lead to significant financial loss.
- Crisis intervention – to help people in serious distress, who need support and advice.
- Injury protection insurance – to replace a portion of lost income, in the event of illness or injury.
- Legal expenses protection insurance – including legal aid, civil court claims, dispute resolution, and property disputes.
- The market also provides key expert services, like claims handling and processing, as well as risk management advice and assistance on regulatory compliance issues.
There are two sides to this business:
1. Investment side
This is where individuals and businesses invest their money in return for a financial return. Most of the investment methods are pretty far removed from anything that you would encounter in the conventional financial world. (The names are GIC, money market fund, and fixed-income instruments).
2. Underwriting side
This is where people who have been ‘insured’ by Three receive protection against risks through a variety of insurance products.
The key to getting value from Three insurance company is to do your research before you buy – at and after the time when you need it.
How does Three insure you?
Three insurance company is one of two types of insurance within Lloyd’s, along with Legge. In general, there are two kinds of insurance within the market:
- premium-based insurance – This is where a person or business pays a premium in return for an agreed level of cover. Often this is expressed as a yearly sum.
- no-claims bonus insurance – This is where a person or business pays a premium in return for cover, but the policy also builds up a no-claims bonus over time.
Three offers both these kinds of policies. The benefit of doing this is that they are able to provide an insurance product that is tailored to the individual needs of customers.
Regulation and approval
In order to operate, Three had to be regulate by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA). In the UK, this sets out the minimum standards and rules that Three had to abide by in order to be able to operate.
The PRA also approves certain types of insurance products. In return for being able to offer these products, Three is subject to strict regulations about how it can advertise its products for sale. This includes things like what it can say about them, and where it can say it on their websites or when customers make contact with them.
Disadvantages
- In the UK, Three insurance company is not available to customers in Scotland. This is because it was historically part of a group of companies known as RSA Insurance Limited. RSA had its origins in Scotland, but it was buy by a New Zealand insurance company in 2006. It then became part of the larger business called RSA Life Limited.
- Some people feel that Three is unduly influence by its parent company, Lloyd’s. There have been some scandals, and it’s not always clear how the parent company feels about the direction the subsidiary should take. This can lead to a feeling that they’re not being quite as forthcoming as they might be.
- There are also regular stories about how Three is being ‘push’ into accepting products that are less attractive than those that it has traditionally offer. There is an inherent tension position between the business of Three and the business of Lloyd’s.
- At the time of writing, Three is offering customers a policy that covers them for significant losses resulting from cyber-hacking. This is giving customers the impression that Three insurance company is more dangerous than it might need to be.
Conclusion
Three is a business that has a lot going for it. It offers products that are uniquely suit to the needs of its customers. The company has also been moving into some other forms of insurance besides the car and life insurance. This is important because it means that they will be able to provide the kinds of protection that the 21st century needs to see in order to thrive in a world where everything is increasingly connect and vulnerable.
Three’s greatest challenge at present is navigating the internal politics between Lloyd’s and its subsidiary business, Three UK Limited.