Scottish Widows Limited is a life insurance, pensions and investment company based in Edinburgh, Scotland, that is a part of Lloyds Banking Group. The company has been providing financial services to the UK market since 1815 and its product range includes workplace and individual pensions, annuities, life cover, critical illness and income protection, as well as savings and investments.
As of 2024, Scottish Widows has £232bn assets under administration and looks after 10 million customers across the UK.[2] In addition, more than 23,000 advisers and advice firms support clients with their pensions and investments through the Scottish Widows Platform.
History
In March 1812, a number of prominent Scotsmen gathered in the Royal Exchange Coffee Rooms in Edinburgh. They were there to discuss setting up 'a general fund for securing provisions to widows, sisters and other female relatives' of fundholders so that they would not be plunged into poverty on the death of the fundholder during and after the Napoleonic Wars. Scottish Widows' Fund and Life Assurance Society opened in 1815 as Scotland's first mutual life office.[3]
Regulations made in 1811 showed its focus on providing annuities for dependants, but this quickly became only a small part of the company's business.