QBE to support homelessness and mental health charities Crisis and Mind under new two-year partnerships

QBE will be supporting Crisis, the national charity for homeless people, on a programme to help people find and keep jobs by offering access to education, employability training and grants at support centres.

Through its partnership with mental health charity Mind, QBE’s funding to the charity’s work with children and young people will provide direct support to thousands, through information on accessing mental health services, campaigning, and working in partnership with 130 local Minds across England and Wales.

Grant Clemence, Chair of the QBE Foundation in Europe, said: “Our new charity partnerships reflect both QBE’s sustainable development goals and causes close to the hearts of QBE employees. Through these partnerships, the QBE Foundation aims to create meaningful, sustained impact in the communities where we operate and to leave a demonstrable legacy beyond the duration of the two-year period.”

Richard Lee, Director of Fundraising at Crisis, said: “Crisis is delighted to be working with QBE. No one should be homeless in 21st Century Great Britain, and QBE’s support of our work over the next year will make a real, lasting difference to the lives of hundreds of people who are homeless or facing homelessness.”  

Jack Matthews, Head of Partnerships Fundraising at Mind, said: “We’re delighted that QBE Foundation have chosen to support Mind for 2020 and 2021. The money raised will help to fund our vital work to provide information, advice and support so people can make their own choices and access the treatment and support that is right for them.”

The QBE Foundation partners with impactful not-for-profits around the world to help people overcome poverty, strengthen their health and wellbeing, and to build more inclusive, sustainable communities. It has donated over £8m to charities since its launch in 2011, through a combination of initiatives such as matching employee fundraising efforts and payroll giving donations to providing grants to charities and encouraging employee volunteering. Under its 2018/2019 partnership with the Alzheimer’s Society, the QBE Foundation raised over £365,000 plus over £106,000 for non-UK Alzheimer's charity partners.

Crisis and Mind were chosen by QBE employees by vote and align with QBE’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to support good health and wellbeing and decent work and economic growth. QBE’s SDGs have been developed with consideration of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

QBE Europe’s offices outside the UK will be partnering with local charities that support either homelessness or mental health.

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For further information contact:

Alexis Burris, Media Relations Adviser, QBE, +44 (0)20 3465 3921

Sandra Villanueva, Senior Media Relations Manager, QBE +44(0)20 7105 5284

About QBE

QBE European Operations is part of QBE Insurance Group, one of the world’s leading international insurers and reinsurers and Standard & Poor’s A+ rated. Listed on the Australian Securities Exchange, QBE’s gross written premium for the year ended 31 December 2018, was US$13.7 billion.

As a business insurance specialist, QBE European Operations offers a range of insurance products from the standard suite of property, casualty and motor to the specialist financial lines, marine and energy. All are tailored to the individual needs of our small, medium and large client base.

We understand the crucial role that effective risk management plays in all organisations and work hard to understand our clients’ businesses so that we offer insurance solutions that meet their needs – from complex programmes to simpler e-trading solutions – and support them in minimising their risk exposures. Our expert risk management and rehabilitation practitioners focus on helping clients improve their risk management so that they may benefit from a reduction in claims frequency and costs.