Direct insurer Churchill is set on an aggressive expansion plan that will create up to 280 new jobs by the end of the year and challenge brokers in their core market of commercial lines business.

Martin Long, Churchill chairman and chief executive, has also hit the acquisition trail and is poised to bid for an as-yet unnamed insurer.

About 160 of the new jobs will be in telesales and customer service at Churchill's new Bromley headquarters, opened last week.

Another 90 jobs will be created at its call centre on Teeside and 30 at its new accident and repair centre in Rotherham.

Churchill's next targets for expansion are small traders and business people who already have their home and motor insurance placed with the direct insurer.

Brokers have maintained a tight grip on commercial lines business, increasing their share of the market from 71% to 81% over the past five years, according to recent figures from the ABI.

Long is keen to compete in this area. "The market for small commercial business such as shopkeepers is quite large, (around £8 billion last year says the ABI). But the big insurers have made it unnecessarily complicated for customers to deal with them. We see a real possibility to make radical changes in this business."

He also predicts tough times ahead in the personal lines sector: "Brokers' share of the market is being consistently eroded and I expect they will be left with around 30% in a few years' time."

In fact, the most up-to-date figure from the ABI is 28%.

Churchill has grown rapidly in its short ten-year history. It recently passed the milestone of 1.3 million policyholders (900,000 motor and 400,000 household).

And it has also attracted 40,000 customers for its travel insurance, 15,000 for its credit card and branched out into providing car loans.

Its enormous customer database has proved a formidable weapon for cross-selling and could be used to boost its commercial business.

Long said Churchill's rapid growth has been achieved by concentrating on its strengths.

"Our expansion shows that if you have a strong brand and give customers good service they will trust you. It isn't always the case that you have to be the cheapest."

In common with other direct insurers, Churchill has launched affinity deals with a growing list of business partners.

The latest deals have been struck with Birmingham Midshires for motor insurance and United Friendly for home protection.

Meanwhile, Churchill's main direct competitor Direct Line commented that it has no immediate plans to expand its commercial insurance activities provided through its Privilege insurance arm.


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