Policyholders can “pick and mix” add ons just like the sweets in Woolworths 

Industry veteran and founder of British Insurance Simon Lance Burgess is resurrecting the Woolworths brand to sell insurance products after snapping up the domain name in October.

Burgess said the business will be starting with motor insurance targeting UK motorists, then moving to household cover down the line.

He told Insurance Times that he is now looking for an insurer partner to team up with before he officially launches under the Woolworths brand.

The cover will available via aggregators, and the policy will allow customers to “pick and mix” their cover online.

“We will be licensing our brand to high street providers; at the moment we are looking at regional building societies. We are also looking at insurance providers that have a high street presence, I think that Woolworths lends itself to a high street presence and that the British public will be delighted to see it back on the high street,” Burgess said. 

Pick and mix 

“I think there is a definite feel-good factor, with a heritage brand such as Woolworths we can make it fun,” he said.

Burgess said that customers can use add-ons like “pick and mix” giving them choice just like the sweets at Woolworths, this will apply to every product.

“Every product that we have, it is absolutely imperative that there is choice. We will have policies that are completely stripped down that everyone can afford, and other covers that can be added on,” he said.

When asked what gives this product its edge, he said that it was the heritage value of the brand Woolworths deeming it “utterly ubiquitous”.

In January 2008, British Insurance was acquired by Towergate, when Amanda Blanc was the deputy chief executive there.

British Insurance was sold in 2010,  Burgess invested some of this money in the British Life Office – a life insurance firm, later changing its name to British Money.

He has also worked at Lloyd’s of London in the nineties working his way up to senior underwriter.