LähiTapiola History and Evolution

LähiTapiola's history dates back to 1959, when it was founded as a mutual insurance company.

The company's first office was located in Helsinki, Finland, and it quickly expanded to offer various insurance products to its members.

In the 1960s, LähiTapiola introduced its first pension insurance product, which was a significant milestone in the company's evolution.

The company's focus on mutual ownership and community involvement has remained a core part of its identity throughout the years.

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Tapiola was founded on the nameday of Tapio on 18 June 1982 when the Aura and Pohja companies were merged.

Lähivakuutus was chosen as the common marketing name for the group of Lähivakuutus insurance companies in 1983, used both nationally and locally.

The company Tapiola decided to expand its activity to financial services in the 2000s, founding Tapiola Omaisuudenhoito Oy and Tapiola-rahastoyhtiö Oy, which later merged into Tapiola Varainhoito Oy.

Tapiola Pankki Oy started operation in 2004.

In 2011 the already existing plans for a fusion between Lähivakuutus and Tapiola were opened and the agreement of the fusion was signed on 23 December.

The supervisory boards of the companies signed the foundation contract of LähiTapiola in February 2012, and the fusion was accepted by the corporate meetings in May 2012.

The new marketing name was announced as LähiTapiola in June 2012.

LähiTapiola significantly increased its stake in Seligson & Co from 40% to 100% in 2020.

This marked a significant shift in the company's ownership structure.

In 2021, LähiTapiola Länsi-Suomi was established, resulting from the merger of LähiTapiola Lännen and LähiTapiola Satakunta.

This move further solidified LähiTapiola's presence in the region.

LähiTapiola and Elo announced plans to sell their stakes in S-Pankki to SOK and S-ryhmän alueosuuskauppa in 2021.

The sale included 28 LähiTapiola-managed funds, worth approximately four billion euros.

By transferring these funds to Seligson & Co, LähiTapiola became one of the largest fund managers in Finland.

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This strategic move positioned the company for future growth.

In 2023, LähiTapiola acquired a 70% stake in Suomen Vahinkovakuutus Oy from POP Pankki-ryhmä.

This acquisition further expanded LähiTapiola's presence in the insurance sector.

LähiTapiola announced its decision to sell its entire stake in Mehiläinen in 2024, marking a significant shift in its investment strategy.

The company had first invested in Mehiläinen in 2017.

Tapiola and Lähivakuutus (1928-2012) was a significant chapter in the history of LähiTapiola.

Tapiola was founded on the nameday of Tapio on 18 June 1982.

In 1983, Lähivakuutus was chosen as the common marketing name for the group of Lähivakuutus insurance companies.

Tapiola decided to expand its activity to financial services in the 2000s.

Tapiola Pankki Oy started operation in 2004.

The plans for a fusion between Lähivakuutus and Tapiola were opened in 2011.

The agreement of the fusion was signed on 23 December 2011.

Tapiola and Lähivakuutus announced their merger in February 2012.

The supervisory boards of the companies signed the foundation contract of LähiTapiola in February 2012.

The fusion was accepted by the corporate meetings in May 2012.

The new marketing name was announced as LähiTapiola in June 2012.

LähiTapiola owns the investment company Seligson & Co.

The group also has a stake in Mehiläinen, one of its owners.

LähiTapiola is one of the owners of Pihlajalinna.

The LähiTapiola group owns part of the capital of the insurance company Turva.

This makes LähiTapiola one of Turva's owners.

LähiTapiola has received numerous awards and recognitions for its services. LähiTapiola Varainhoito was awarded best provider of responsive investments in 2019.

This recognition is not a one-time achievement, but rather a testament to their consistent excellence. They received this award for the fifth time in seven years.

Their commitment to responsible investing has earned them a reputation as a trusted provider. In 2019, they were selected as the best provider of responsible investments in a survey for institution investors conducted by SFR Research.

Here are some of their notable recognitions:

LähiTapiola's insurance services have received mixed reviews from customers. They had a water damage issue in their apartment building, which took 6 months to get resolved.

Their insurance claim was handled slowly, with long wait times for responses. In contrast, If (a different insurance company) and Vakuutusyhtiö Turva (another insurance company) have a reputation for being efficient and reliable.

It's worth noting that LähiTapiola's customers have reported difficulties in getting their claims processed. They often had to take matters into their own hands and seek reimbursement later on.

LähiTapiola's slow response times and inability to make decisions have left customers frustrated.

LähiTapiolan alkuvuodet olivat merkittäviä, sillä yhtiö aloitti virallisesti toimintansa vuonna 2013.

Erkki Moisander aloitti pääjohtajana, ja hän onnistui synnyttämään yhteisen yrityskulttuurin, jossa kaikki tasa-arvoisesti kertoi mielipiteensä.

LähiTapiola oli Suomen suurimpia vahinkovakuuttajia, ja sen markkinaosuus oli 25,6 %.

Tapiola was born on the nameday of Tapio on 18 June 1982, when Aura and Pohja merged.

The company's name was initially used as a marketing name for the group of Lähivakuutus insurance companies in 1983, both nationally and locally.

Lähivakuutus was chosen as the common marketing name for the group of Lähivakuutus insurance companies in 1983.

Tapiola and Lähivakuutus announced their merger in February 2012.

The companies' supervisory boards signed the foundation contract of LähiTapiola in 2012.

The corporate meetings of Tapiola and Lähivakuutus accepted the fusion in May 2012.

The new marketing name was announced as LähiTapiola in June 2012.

Tapiola and Lähivakuutus had been planning to merge since the 2000s.

In 2013, the LähiTapiola group officially began its operations, marking a significant milestone in the company's history. Erkki Moisander took over as the CEO of LähiTapiola.

The company's culture was described as friendly and academically inclined, with a focus on open discussion. Lähivakuutus, on the other hand, was run using a decentralized model, where regional insurance associations held a significant amount of power.

The merger between Tapiola and Lähivakuutus was a complex process, with both companies having distinct cultures. Tapiola was a centralized, expert-driven organization, while Lähivakuutus was more agile and entrepreneurial.

The merger was driven by a desire to create a more competitive entity in a rapidly changing market. OP Ryhmä's introduction of bonuses that could be used towards insurance premiums had put pressure on both companies to adapt.

The merger brought together two companies with different strengths, creating a more balanced organization. Tapiola brought its expertise in life insurance, while Lähivakuutus contributed its knowledge of regional insurance associations.

LähiTapiola Pankki changed its name to LähiTapiola Pankki in June 2013. Tapiola Pankki and S-Pankki announced a merger in June 2013 as part of a larger cooperation agreement between S-ryhmä and LähiTapiola-ryhmä.

In 2016, LähiTapiola was the second largest damage insurance company in Finland with a revenue of 1.1 billion euros.

LähiTapiola had 1.6 million owner customers and employed about 3400 people. The company had a significant presence in the market.

The company's total sum of client funds controlled by LähiTapiola was 9.7 billion euros, and its associates included the S-Bank, Elo, and Pihlajalinna.

In 2017, LähiTapiola announced it would renew its strategy by diminishing its role as an insurance company and making life support into its core function.

LähiTapiola's new strategy focused on services for safety, finance, and health, such as damage and life insurance, fund control, and services related to health and wellbeing.

The company started a strategic cooperation with the healthcare company Mehiläinen in June 2017.

LähiTapiola raised its ownership share of Mehiläinen from 9% to 20% in May 2018.

The company announced its first results from healthcare chains by the healthcare service provided by Mehiläinen, showing a 56% cost saving in healthcare chains of less than 500 euros.

LähiTapiola experimented with a change in healthcare chains relating to work accidents, which encouraged people to return to work when they were partially fit.

The company decided to put this model into general use after successful experience, and treated about 50,000 work accidents per year.

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LähiTapiola has successfully transitioned from an internal IT unit to outsourced ICT services.

The results of this joint venture have had a significant impact on both companies.

LTC-Otso, the company behind the transition, has successfully completed projects related to LähiTapiola's merger and measures required by the creation of Elo.

LTC-Otso employs just over 300 personnel in Espoo and Tampere.

In the summer of 2015, Otso established a Shared Service Center in Lappeenranta to secure sufficient expertise and capabilities in new fields of technology.

A close partnership with Lappeenranta University of Technology has been formed to develop even better services and new, innovative solutions for customers.

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