The deal to partially nationalise Fortis will have widespread impact on the insurance market in the UK.

The deal to partially nationalise Fortis will have widespread impact on the insurance market in the UK.

Belgium's largest retail bank is the UK's third-largest car insurer and Britain's fourth-largest travel insurer. It has UK offices at locations including Eastleigh in Hampshire and Brockworth, near Gloucester. In Belgium, more than 1.5 million households - about half the country - bank with the group.

Fortis UK, which came into being in April 2000 with the integration of Bishopsgate Insurance and Northern Star Insurance, said it remained "unaffected" by recent events and said "our customers should not be concerned as it is very much business as usual".

A spokesman added: "Their policies will not be impacted in any way."

To avert further stock market hits, the governments of Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg stepped in to rescue the bank, which was the Royal Bank of Scotland's partner for the takeover of ABN Amro, the biggest retail bank in the Netherlands.

Ministers from the Benelux countries agreed to put £8.9bn into Fortis to save the bank in return for a 49% stake.

Fortis, with headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, and Utrecht, Netherlands, has seen two-thirds of its market value wiped out since the beginning of the year, with more than one-third evaporating last week.

The biggest European bank bailout since the credit crisis came after Fortis shares dropped on Friday by 20%, to hit their lowest level in 15 years. It is said to have struggled to meet the cost of integrating ABN's assets, reportedly facing a shortfall of around £4 billion.

The rescue of what is the biggest private employer in Belgium followed emergency talks with European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet on Sunday.

As part of the weekend deal to rescue Fortis, which employs 85,000 staff, the bank will have to sell its stake in Dutch bank ABN which it partially took over last year.

The Dutch government has not yet named any potential buyers but Dutch rival ING is expected to have a deal finalised within two weeks, analysts have said.

Belgian Prime Minister Yves Leterme said the bail-out showed Fortis would not be allowed to fail.

Mr Leterme said: "We have taken up our responsibility, we did not abandon the savers."