About us

We’ve been on the side of teachers for over 135 years. This means we have the experience to understand teachers’ changing financial needs and teachers can be confident we are here for the long-term.

Teachers Assurance was originally started by the National Union of Teachers as a mutual, friendly society. We provided sick pay, annuities and endowments before teachers received help from the Government towards finances or pensions.

By providing simple and affordable savings and protection schemes we were able to help ensure teachers had more financial security and lived better lives, both while working and in retirement.

We were started by teachers, for teachers and the company is still run with the same philosophy today. In 2011 alone, we paid our customers nearly £63 million on maturing savings and retirement policies, just under £21 million to unit trust and ISA holders and £2.6 million in home and contents insurance claims.

Teachers Assurance was started by what was to become the National Union of Teachers in 1877. Although we are now separate to the Union, we still work in partnership and act as their only endorsed financial services provider.

We support the NUT today by providing financial education to their Members. Every school day we are in schools talking to Members about their finances and we also hold seminars on a range of topics including the Teachers’ Pension scheme.

Below is what Christine Blower, General Secretary of the NUT says about us:

“Over the years, thousands of NUT members and their families have enjoyed the benefits of saving with this well-respected organisation.

“It’s one of the biggest friendly societies in the UK. What’s more, it continues its proud tradition of delivering attractive insurance, savings and investment benefits for NUT members.

“I have no hesitation in recommending Teachers Assurance. If you’re looking for the ideal savings and investment product, the information they offer is well worth looking at.”

To find out more about the NUT or to join the union, please go to: www.teachers.org.uk

At Teachers Assurance, we tailor our service to meet the individual needs of teachers. Every time you deal with us, we work hard to ensure the service you receive is personal, the staff member you speak to is an expert in their subject area and that our services are available when you need them.

Telephone

We know it’s often difficult for teachers to take time out during the day. So our call centre, based in Bournemouth, is open late until 9pm on a school night as well as on Saturday and Sunday and our help line staff are specially trained to help support teachers. You won’t find any push button menus or anonymous call centres at Teachers Assurance.

To find out about our opening times, visit the contact us page.

Money Talks

Our Financial Education Officers are in schools every school day to talk to teachers at a time and location that suits. Our financial education talks are designed by teachers for teachers and aimed at helping teachers make informed decisions.

Online

Teachers have told us that they often manage their finances late at night. For this reason, we have tried to put as much information and as many resources online as we can. This means that you can have access to the information you need at a time that suits you.

Our customers can manage their accounts using the My Plans online service. If you don’t have an account already, setting up your own will enable you to view your products and inform us of any changes to your details or situation.

You can also use our online Financial Calculator Tools to better understand your financial position or to produce an individually tailored financial report.

Financial Calculators

Book a Money Talk

Every time you deal with Teachers Assurance, we hope to exceed your expectations. Our aim is to demonstrate the following:

• Personal service: Our people are friendly, professional and based here in the UK.  We won’t patronise and we will always speak your language. We’ll deal with you on a personal level to help ensure financial options are simple and easy to understand.

• Support: Our business is set up to support teachers to make informed decisions. We will be by your side whether face to face in a staff room, on the phone or through our website.

• Expert knowledge: We exist to look after the financial needs of teachers. We understand your needs and only develop services and products with teachers in mind.

• Sharing: As a friendly, mutual society, we don’t have any shareholders, which means we can be generous with our resources. We openly share our knowledge to enable teachers to make informed decisions.

• Experience: We’ve been helping teachers since 1877. We have the experience to understand the changing needs of teachers and that we understand teachers’ finances like no one else.

• Responsibility: We try to be responsible in everything we do. Teachers can trust us to always make decisions based on their best interests and for us to be a strong and secure home for important financial investments.

We’d love to welcome you to our Research Panel and to hear your views.

Our Research Panel comprises teachers of all age ranges and disciplines. Some are customers and others are not but they all share a common purpose – to help shape the future of Teachers Assurance.

We ask our Research Panel for their views on topics ranging from brand to products to services and resources.  We then use this information to ensure everything we do is tailored to the needs of teachers.

If you join the Research Panel, you’ll receive no more than two email questionnaires from us each month. Each questionnaire should take less than ten minutes to answer.

There is no obligation to respond but if you do, we’ll enter you into a monthly prize draw to win £100 of Love2Shop Vouchers. Please click here to view the terms and conditions of the prize draw.

As a socially responsible company, we believe it is important to give back to our communities and the people who support us. Our staff really get behind this and every year they raise money for the charities close to their hearts.

Lucy Lund Holiday Grants

Lucy Lund Holiday Grants is a registered charity. Three former and one current member of our board  act as trustees to administer this fund from our head office in Bournemouth.

The fund was established in 1927. It exists for the benefit of teachers needing extra financial assistance for a holiday or period of convalescence. The fund provides grants of up to £200.

If you would like to find out about applying for help from the fund, further details can be obtained from the Honorary Secretary, Teachers Provident Society, Deansleigh Road, Bournemouth, BH7 7DT.

Teachers Group Educational Trust

This registered charity was established in 2007 and followed the merger of Teachers Provident Society with Teachers Assurance Company in 1999 to form Teachers Assurance.  Teachers Assurance provides the administration for the charity.

The main focus of the charity is supporting educational programmes for school age children. So rather than supporting individuals, the trustees are committed to finding and helping projects that change lives through education.

Staff fundraising

On top of this, here are some of the great causes we have supported over the last year:

Julia’s House

Julia’s House is Dorset’s only hospice dedicated to children with life-limiting conditions. The sad fact is that most of the children they care for are unlikely to live beyond the age of 18.

The charity cares for around 100 children, but also looks after the whole family, not just the sick child. They organise a range of social activities and provide support for parents, brothers and sisters.

As this charity is on the doorstep of our head office we have supported them for many years. We have recently presented the charity with a cheque for just over £800.

To support the charity, please visit their website www.juliashouse.org.

Victoria Education Centre and Sports College

This is a residential and day school in Dorset that offers specialised, high quality care and therapy for young disabled people.

All their students have physical disabilities and complex medical conditions and many have additional needs such as communication and learning difficulties and sensory impairments.

The staff at Teachers Assurance have recently decided to start supporting this charity. To date we have donated £534 to this charity through staff fund raising events.

You can follow the charity on their Facebook Page.

Compliments

We receive letters every week from our customers providing feedback on the service they have received from us. It’s great to hear from you, as it helps let us know what we are doing right and how we can change things for the better.

If you have anything you want to tell us about, good or bad, then please do not hesitate to contact us. We love to hear from you. Contact us

Here are just a few of the examples of what customers have told us recently:

Mrs O’Dair, Derbyshire: “I have invested with you since 1986 and have received exemplary service from you.”

Miss Anderton, Lancashire: “I am writing to express my sincere thanks to you and your staff for the help you have given….It has been greatly appreciated.”

Mr Davies, Oxon: “Thank you very much for your letter and cheque. I am most impressed by the excellent service.”

Complaints

We try our best to get it right every time but understand that sometimes we can get it wrong.

If you are not happy with what we do for you, then there are a number of options for how you can let us know:

• Write to our Complaints Team at Teachers Assurance, Freepost, BH7 7BR
• Call a member of our team on 0800 731 1093
• Or complete this complaints form

You can be sure that your complaint will be dealt with as a high priority and that we will follow the strict procedures that we have in place for handling complaints.

If you are not happy with the outcome of your complaint, you can contact the Financial Services Ombudsman on their website or using the following details:

Financial Ombudsman Service

South Quay Plaza

183 Marsh Wall

London

E14 9SR