Direct Line

Last updated

Direct Line
Direct Line
Industry Insurance
Founder Martin Long
Peter Wood
Headquarters Bromley, England, uk
Key people
Jonathan Greenwood, CEO
Products Vehicle insurance, Home insurance, Pet insurance, Life insurance, Travel insurance, Business insurance
Brands Direct Line for Business
Number of employees
<10,000
Parent Direct Line Group
Website www.directline.com

Direct Line is an insurance company based in Bromley, England. Founded in 1985, as the country's first direct car insurance company, it has since expanded to offer a range of general insurance products. Its policies are underwritten by the regulated subsidiary UK Insurance Limited, and it is owned by the Direct Line Group.

Contents

History

Founded in Croydon by Martin Long and Peter Wood as the insurance division of Royal Bank of Scotland. [1]

In 1988, it started to sell home insurance. Direct Line is renowned for having transformed financial services in the United Kingdom. [2]

The mascot had altered slightly over the years; being accompanied by a red mouse on wheels to represent the company's website in 2005, which was dropped in 2020, with another re brand leaving the phone on its own once more. [2] In September 2014, the brand worked with Saatchi and Saatchi to relaunch its advertising, which saw Hollywood actor Harvey Keitel reprise his role as the character Winston Wolfe from the 1994 film Pulp Fiction . [3] The company had one million customers after eight years by June 2003. [4]

The innovations extended into the 2000s with the launch of the first online claims registration and tracking facility in the United Kingdom for its motor insurance customers in 2001, and Home Response 24 Emergency Insurance, launching in 2003. [5]

Controversy

In January 2012, Direct Line, along with sister company Churchill Insurance, was fined £2.17m by the FSA, after being found guilty of altering complaints files. [6]

Awards

Direct Line has won a number of awards including:

Rebranding

In Italy and Germany, Direct Line was acquired by MAPFRE Group in September 2014, and re branded to Verti in January 2017. [10] Verti is a brand owned by MAPFRE Group, operating in Italy, Germany, Spain and the United States. [11]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Financial Services Authority</span> 2001–2013 UK quasi-judicial body

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) was a quasi-judicial body accountable for the regulation of the financial services industry in the United Kingdom between 2001 and 2013. It was founded as the Securities and Investments Board (SIB) in 1985. Its board was appointed by the Treasury, although it operated independently of government. It was structured as a company limited by guarantee and was funded entirely by fees charged to the financial services industry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">GEICO</span> Auto insurance company

The Government Employees Insurance Company is a private American auto insurance company headquartered in Chevy Chase, Maryland. In addition to auto insurance, GEICO provides motorcycle, ATV, RV, boat, snowmobile, travel, pet, event, homeowner, renter, and jewelry insurance options. It is the second largest auto insurer in the United States, after State Farm. GEICO is a wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway, which provides coverage for more than 24 million motor vehicles owned by more than 15 million policy holders as of 2017. GEICO writes private passenger automobile insurance in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. The insurance agency sells policies through local agents, called GEICO Field Representatives, over the phone directly to the consumer via licensed insurance agents, and through their website. Its mascot is a gold dust day gecko with a Cockney accent, voiced by English actor Jake Wood. GEICO is well known in popular culture for its advertising, having made numerous commercials intended to entertain viewers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Allstate</span> American insurance company

The Allstate Corporation is an American insurance company, headquartered in Glenview, Illinois since 2022. Founded in 1931 as part of Sears, Roebuck and Co., it was spun off in 1993, but was still partially owned by Sears until it became an independent company completely in June 1995. The company also has personal lines insurance operations in Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">J.D. Power</span> Company

J.D. Power is an American data analytics, software, and consumer intelligence company founded in 1968. The company specializes in the use of big data, artificial intelligence, and algorithmic models examining consumer behavior. The firm's business model has evolved to emphasize data and analytics and software products. Industry benchmarking studies are used to evaluate detailed consumer interactions and trends across the automotive, financial services, healthcare, home, insurance, technology, media and telecom, travel and hospitality, senior living, and utilities industries.

M&C Saatchi Group is an international communications company, formed in May 1995 as an advertising agency. With more than 2,400 staff, the group has its headquarters in London, and offices in several other countries.

The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity is a global event for those working in creative communications, advertising, and related fields. It is considered the largest gathering of the advertising and creative communications industry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mapfre</span> Spanish multinational insurance company

Mapfre, S.A. is a Spanish multinational insurance company, based in Majadahonda, Madrid. The name comes from the old mutual origin of the company, but the company now only refers to itself as Mapfre. It is the leading insurance company in Spain and the largest non-life insurance company in Latin America.

Confused.com is a UK based financial services comparison platform launched in 2001 and specialising in comparison of insurance and financial services, including car insurance, home insurance, energy, van insurance and life insurance. Confused.com's platform includes a website and app.

Liverpool Victoria, trading since May 2007 as LV=, is one of the United Kingdom's largest insurance companies. It offers a range of insurance and retirement products.

Green Flag, or Green Flag Rescue, is a British roadside assistance and vehicle recovery provider, which is part of the Direct Line Group. Formed in 1971, as the National Breakdown Recovery Club, as an alternative to the AA and RAC, it used a network of local garages and mechanics to deliver recovery and repair services, instead of patrolling mechanics.

Axis Bank Limited, formerly known as UTI Bank (1993–2007), is an Indian multinational banking and financial services company headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra. It is India's third largest private sector bank by assets and Fourth largest by Market capitalisation. It sells financial services to large and mid-size companies, SMEs and retail businesses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NatWest</span> British retail and commercial bank

National Westminster Bank plc, often shortened to and trading as NatWest, is a major retail and commercial bank in the United Kingdom based in London, England. It was established in 1968 by the merger of National Provincial Bank and Westminster Bank. In 2000, it became part of The Royal Bank of Scotland Group, which was re-named NatWest Group in 2020. Following ringfencing of the group's core domestic business, the bank became a direct subsidiary of NatWest Holdings; NatWest Markets comprises the non-ringfenced investment banking arm. The British government currently owns 35% of NatWest Group after spending £45 billion bailing out the lender in 2008; the proportion at one point was 54.7%. NatWest International is a trading name of RBS International, which also sits outside the ringfence.

Comparethemarket is a UK price comparison website, founded in 2006, that is part of the BGL Group. The website also offers other on-line companies the ability to provide their customers with a co-branded or white labelled comparison service.

Churchill Insurance is a British insurance company based in Bromley, London. Founded in 1989, as one of the country's first direct to customer car insurance companies, the company has expanded to offer a range of general insurance products. Since February 2012, Churchill is part of the Direct Line Group; policies are underwritten by the parent United Kingdom Insurance Limited.

GoCompare.com Limited, trading as Go.Compare is a Welsh financial services comparison company based in Newport, Wales. Its website provides comparison details for financial products including car insurance, home and pet insurance and breakdown cover. Since 2021 it has been owned by Future plc. The company's advertising campaign in 2015 was voted as the "most irritating advertisement."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cake (advertisement)</span>

Cake is a television and cinema advertisement launched in 2007 by Škoda Auto to promote the new second-generation Fabia supermini car in the United Kingdom. The 60-second spot forms the centrepiece of an integrated advertising campaign comprising appearances on television, in cinemas, in newspapers and magazines, online, and through direct marketing. The campaign and its component parts were handled by the London branch of advertising agency Fallon Worldwide. Cake was directed by British director Chris Palmer. Production was contracted to Gorgeous Enterprises, with sound handled by Wave Studios. It premiered on British television on 17 May 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Direct Line Group</span> British insurance company

Direct Line Insurance Group plc is a British insurance company based in the United Kingdom, formed in 2012 by the divestment of The Royal Bank of Scotland Group's (RBS) insurance division, through an initial public offering. The company owns a number of insurance subsidiaries, providing various insurance products, including Direct Line and Churchill, Darwin as well as the roadside assistance and vehicle recovery provider Green Flag.

Citiservi is an internet marketplace launched in May 2009, inspired by yellow pages. The platform allows service providers and consumers to find each other and compare quotes. Its main markets are US and Spain; however, versions are available for Mexico, Brazil and other countries.

More Than is an insurance company based in the United Kingdom that offers motor, home, pet and travel insurance. Its business arm More Than BUSINESS offers business insurance. The company is a subsidiary of the RSA Insurance Group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Simplii Financial</span> Banks of Canada

Simplii Financial is a Canadian direct bank and the digital banking division of the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC). It offers no-fee chequing and savings accounts, a VISA credit card, Guaranteed Investment Certificates (GICs), mortgages and mutual funds. These savings and investment products are also eligible for registration under a Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA) or a Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP).

References

  1. "Halifax opens fire in motor cover war". The Daily Telegraph . London. 10 January 2001.
  2. 1 2 (1 March 2004) Superbrands case studies: Direct Line Archived 2 October 2017 at the Wayback Machine Campaign
  3. Kemp, Nicola (1 August 2016). Case Study: how Direct Line fixed the insurance market Archived 9 July 2017 at the Wayback Machine Campaign Magazine
  4. Finch, Julia (27 June 2003). Cover model - Peter Wood, the founder of Direct Line Archived 11 September 2014 at the Wayback Machine The Guardian
  5. Royal Bank of Scotland - Heritage - Companies - Direct Line Archived 2 October 2017 at the Wayback Machine RBS.com
  6. Jill Treanor (18 January 2012). "Churchill and Direct Line fined £2.1m by FSA". The Guardian . Archived from the original on 13 April 2014. Retrieved 18 January 2012.
  7. "FSForum Awards for Marketing Effectiveness" (PDF).
  8. (22 August 2016). YourMoney.com Awards 2016: Direct winners Archived 6 July 2017 at the Wayback Machine
  9. (17 August 2015). Your Money Awards 2015: Direct winners Archived 2 August 2016 at the Wayback Machine
  10. "MAPFRE closes acquisition of Direct Line in Italy and Germany after obtaining authorization from regulatory bodies".
  11. "Mapfre ultima el lanzamiento de Verti, su filial digital, en EEUU". 22 October 2017.