A BASINGSTOKE-BASED life insurance firm has been declared Large Business of the Year after a “difficult” experience front and centre in the pandemic.

Reassured, which opened in 2009, has grown from just four to more than 1,000 employees and is the UK’s largest life insurance broker.

In 2020, the company located in Basing View protected more than 216,000 families, as fear and uncertainty of the coronavirus pandemic haunted many.

Life insurance is a type of policy which people buy, and wich gives a person’s loved ones a cash pay-out when they are no longer around.

Speaking after receiving the award, Bev Kinchenton, of Reassured, said: “We are so delighted, we feel blessed. We have had the most difficult Covid years, we have been protecting people’s lives whilst the worst pandemic has happened and we feel blessed to have been a part of that.”

Bev added that life insurance is an “unsung” sector, adding: “We are proud to have protected people’s lives. We look at each policy we sell and we know that is a family that has been protected. That’s what’s important to us as a business.”

The business has its roots in Hampshire, despite growing to become a large business operating in various locations across the country.

In 2017, it announced it would relocate its head office to Basingstoke with the potential for more than 150 jobs to be created.

Reassured moved from Alton, where the business started up, to Belvedere House.

Bev continued: “We are all over the UK, but Basingstoke is our head office. We are very proud of our people, and we view here as our home.”

The company beat fellow finalists Phillips Solicitors and Centerprise International to win top place in the Large Businesses category at Thursday night’s awards.

The prize was sponsored by Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council and “recognised dynamic businesses from across the region”.