Foremost Group can trace its origins back to 1762, when Thomas Freeman started trading as a goldsmith banker on Backhouse Street in the City of London. By 1834 the business had opened several branches in English provincial towns including, Grimsby, Norwich and Bristol, trading under the name ‘Freeman Financial Services’ (FFS).

Between 1910 and 1920 FFS extended its reach by buying up several smaller banks, lenders and insurance agents. The company expanded further in 1925 when it amalgamated with Greater Northern Insurance, then in 1927 the company began to expand overseas taking over Royal Indian insurance.

The Freeman family continued to have a controlling stake in the business until 1972 when the last family member, Sir Michael Freeman sold his final shares. Following the breaking of ties with the Freeman family Chairman and CEO Claude Lemans hired an outside consultancy that used a sophisticated computer programme to pick the ideal name for the company.  Lemans wanted a name which would emphasise both the tradition and longevity of the business. After months of anticipation the computer came up with the name “Stuur Group”.  Enthusiasm waned when Executives from The Netherlands pointed out that this translated to “Rat’s Group” in Dutch. Shortly after Lemans sacked the consultants and chose the name ‘Foremost Group’ himself.

Today Foremost Group consists of five core business groups: Financial Services, Life & Savings, Property and Casualty, International Insurance and Asset Management. In 1997 the company moved its headquarters to Cashton to take advantage of the more business friendly environment. The company has operations in Western Europe, North America and the Middle East, and is currently seeking to expand into the Asia Pacific region with the opening of offices in Tokyo.