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Wesleyan Assurance Society is a specialist financial services company that provides advice and products to select professional groups - notably GPs, hospital doctors, dentists, teachers and lawyers.

Wesleyan is a member of the Association of Financial Mutuals (AFM) and was founded in Birmingham, UK, in 1841. The society's head office remains in Birmingham and is based at Colmore Circus.

Segmentation by profession

Each professional group is served by dedicated Financial Consultants who work only within their specialist segment. Wesleyan is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority.

GPs, Hospital Doctors and Dentists

Wesleyan provides a range of financial products and services for medical and dental professionals including medical students, partners and consultants. The society offers financial planning around NHS Pension Scheme, income protection and savings and investments.

Teachers

Wesleyan offers advice to teachers around the Teachers Pension Scheme as well as retirement planning, mortgages to investments.

Lawyers

From law school to a senior partnership, Wesleyan works with lawyers across the legal profession to advise them around income protection, key person insurance, retirement planning and investments.

Professionals

Wesleyan has traditionally offered financal services to a wide variety of professionals, providing advice around remortgaging, investments, income protection, pension planning and home insurance.

History

Wesleyan was established in Birmingham during the early years of Queen Victoria's reign. It was founded by members of the Wesleyan Methodist Church to help people overcome financial problems brought on by the first industrial revolution. The Society began offering life assurance on a nationwide scale in 1855 and continued to grow in the late 1800s.

In 1914 The Wesleyan & General Assurance Society Act was granted, giving the Society a corporate identity of its own and allowing it more investment freedom. The Society was also a generous subscriber to the Government and allies' War Loan funds during the Great War, and in February a single cheque for £250,000 was drawn for this purpose.

To celebrate the end of the war, the Government issued Victory Bond policies and the Wesleyan & General bought Bonds amounting to £3/4 million.

Following the outbreak of the Second World War, the Chief Office basement and other buildings owned by the Society were converted into air raid shelters, with a local first aid HQ established in the basement toilets.

In 1991 the Society celebrated its 150th anniversary and moved into its current Head Office at Colmore Circus, Birmingham. A special limited edition Anniversary Bond was also launched offering customers a guaranteed return with no risks.

1993 saw the launch of Wesleyan Savings Bank, while 1997 saw a merger with the Medical Sickness Society take place. The merger enabled the society to build a market leading brand with Doctors and Dentists, a position further strengthened with the acquisition of the Professional Affinity Group Services (PAGS) in 2002.