Saga : Everything you need to know

About Saga

Saga provides insurance products and services, mainly for people over 50 years old. It operates through three segments: insurance, travel, and emerging businesses and central costs.

Saga’s insurance division, the largest part of the group, provides tailored insurance products and services such as motor, home, travel, and private medical insurance. Its in-house insurer, Acromas Insurance Company Limited (AICL), underwrites a variety of personal lines policies.

Saga’s travel division comprises travel businesses Saga Holidays, Saga Cruises, Titan, and Destinology that take customers around the world on escorted tours, hotel staycations, ocean and river cruises, and tailor-made luxury breaks.

Saga Holidays provides holiday experiences in over 120 countries and islands, ranging from hotel staycations to active adventures. Meanwhile, Saga Cruises offers small-ship cruises for travellers looking to visit several destinations on one ocean-based holiday.

Titan offers travel experiences by air, rail, coach, river, or ocean in Australia and North and South America. Meanwhile, Destinology provides four or five-star holidays in the UAE, Europe, Far East, and the Indian Ocean.

Lastly, Saga’s emerging business division focuses on personal finance and healthcare. Its finance business offers credit cards, savings, loans, wealth management, and equity release. Meanwhile, its healthcare business focuses on the homecare sector and operates in a trial area in Hertfordshire.

History of Saga

Sidney de Haan founded Saga in 1951 to offer affordable off-peak holidays exclusively for retired people.

Saga continued to grow over the years, pioneering tourism in the Algarve and adding destinations throughout the UK, Spain, Romania, and Yugoslavia.

In the 1990s, the firm launched Saga Rose, its first cruise ship. It also started offering all-inclusive holidays in Europe and lowered the minimum age for its customers from 60 to 50.

In 2010, the company added Saga Sapphire to its fleet of cruise ships. In 2014, it floated on the London Stock Exchange as Saga plc and created Saga Investment Services to deliver a range of products and services that benefit people aged 50 and over.

In 2018, Saga signed a quota share deal with NewRe and Hannover Re to reduce its underwriting risk. Both companies took on 80% of the motor underwriting risk of in-house underwriter AICL.

In the same year, Saga opened up its health insurance offering to brokers, allowing them to provide the product to clients aged over 50. A direct broker referral process gave brokers up to 30% commission for all confirmed, converted sales. The company also launched personal cyber coverage, which provides comprehensive protection against cyber risks on customers’ devices.

In 2019, Saga partnered with the RAC. Under the agreement, the RAC provides roadside assistance to the company’s motor insurance customers who buy or renew their breakdown cover as an add-on to their car, caravan, or motorhome policy. In 2020, Saga suspended its cruise operations in response to the COVID-19 crisis.

Leadership at Saga

Euan Sutherland – Group CEO

Sutherland joined Saga as the group chief executive officer in December 2019. He has decades of experience in leading major consumer-facing businesses in the UK and internationally.

Before joining Saga, he spent nearly six years with Superdry as the chief executive officer. In that role, he led a significant transformation programme that resulted in more profitable and efficient business. He also previously served various senior positions at Co-op, Kingfisher plc, AS Watson Group, Matalan, Dixons Retail, Coca Cola, Mars, and The Boots Company.

Culture at Saga

Saga is committed to treating all employees fairly by promoting a diverse workplace, offering equal opportunities for career growth, and encouraging its people to deliver exceptional services to customers. It is also committed to giving back to communities by partnering with various charities and organisations to create and implement initiatives.

Saga partnered with The Silver Line after seeking the opinion of its employees and customers. The charity provides a free 24/7 helpline for older people in the UK. Its trained specialty team offers information and advice to older people, links callers to local groups and services, provides regular friendship calls, and protects and supports older people who are dealing with abuse or neglect.

Saga is also focused on becoming environmental stewards. It quantifies and reports its organisational greenhouse gas emissions in alignment with the GHG protocol.