The company was established through the merger of the
Guardian Assurance Company and
Royal Exchange Assurance in 1968. In February 1998 it acquired
PPP Healthcare, a private
healthcare insurer, for £435m. In February 1999 it was acquired by
Axa of France for $5.7bn and integrated into its
Sun Life & Provincial Holdings division. It was subsequently announced that the company would move out of the
Royal Exchange Building. The life assurance business was acquired by
Aegon later that year. ==References==