Sovereign Limited

Sovereign Assurance Company Limited

Type	Subsidiary
Industry	Life Insurance, Health Insurance, Home Loans, Investments and Superannuation
Founded	1989
Headquarters	Auckland, New Zealand
Key people	Nick Stanhope, Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
Products	Comprehensive and integrated range of financial products and services
Number of employees	700+
Parent	Commonwealth Bank
Website	http://www.sovereign.co.nz

Sovereign Assurance Company Limited (Sovereign) is a New Zealand-based financial services company which provides life and health insurance, home loans, investment and superannuation products. It is a member of the ASB Group of companies, which is in turn part of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) group.

Sovereign started out in 1989 as a life insurance and investment provider. The company expanded in 1996 with its acquisition of Metropolitan Life Assurance Company of N.Z. Limited.

In 1998 Sovereign was acquired by the ASB Group, which is owned by the CBA. When CBA merged with Colonial Limited in 2000, the Colonial New Zealand life and investment business was integrated with Sovereign, making it the largest life insurer in New Zealand.

Sovereign has maintained a market share of around 29% to 30% of in-force premiums over the five years up to 2011.

Sovereign currently has a financial strength rating of A+ (Superior) from international rating agency A.M. Best (awarded December, 2011).

Sovereign is one of over 900 signatories for the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI). The initiative was designed and developed by the United Nations Environment Program Finance Initiative (UNEP FI), and is a set of aspirational and voluntary guidelines for investment entities wishing to address environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) issues.

In 2011, Sovereign hosted a United Nations-facilitated ‘Principles for Sustainable Insurance’ Regional Consultation Meeting for Oceania, which will help develop new sustainability principles for the global insurance sector.