The 1990s was a decade of expansion across three continents.
First Steps in the UK's Thriving Insurance Market
In the 1990s, AEGON took its first steps into the United Kingdom’s thriving insurance market. In early 1991, AEGON bought Regency Life, a UK insurer specializing in unit-linked products and pensions.
Two years later, AEGON began its relationship with Scottish Equitable, acquiring 40% of the company, one of the best-known names in the UK financial services industry.
By 1998, AEGON had taken full control of Scottish Equitable. A year later, AEGON acquired the life insurance operations of Guardian Royal Exchange. The UK business now operates under the AEGON name and is based in Edinburgh.
To increase awareness of the brand, AEGON partners with the UK's Lawn Tennis Association to invest in the future of British tennis at every level.
Central & Eastern Europe
The early 1990s also witnessed AEGON’s first steps in two other regions that would become increasingly significant for the company: Central & Eastern Europe and Asia.
In March 1992, AEGON bought a 75% stake in Állami Biztosító, Hungary’s former state-owned insurance company. At this point, Hungary and the rest of the region was emerging from decades of Soviet domination. AEGON’s involvement in Hungary has served as a springboard for further expansion in the region. What was once Állami Biztosító’s Budapest office is now AEGON’s regional headquarters for Central & Eastern Europe.
Asia
AEGON set up a greenfield operation in Taiwan in late 1993.
Over the next few years, the company strengthened its position in Taiwan, which would play a significant role in helping AEGON push out into Asia. By the time AEGON closed its Taiwan business six years later, the company had expanded into China and Japan.
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