esure provides car, home and travel insurance. Apply online now for a cheap insurance
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esure story
The idea for esure was conceived in February 1999 by the founder and Chairman, Peter Wood. Peter
kick-started the direct selling of insurance over the telephone in the UK back in 1985, when he launched Direct Line and reformed
the way that insurance is bought and sold. With esure, his aim was to further reduce the price of
cover for the majority of good drivers and responsible homeowners - and to harness the power of the internet in doing
so.
With backing to the tune of £150m from the Halifax - later the HBOS Group - and approval from the FSA, esure began trading in January 2001 under Chief Executive, Peter Graham. At the outset, the company took over
the management of Halifax Car Insurance from the previous underwriters, Churchill.
The distinctive esure motor insurance brand with its 'blue man' logo was launched in July 2001
with a ground-breaking policy of insuring only drivers with four years' no claim discount or more. The fact that
esure's no claim discount scale then continues to rise from 70% for five years' claim free
driving up to 75% for a total of ten years without a claim proved a huge draw for responsible motorists who were previously
offered no greater benefit for their good driving record.
esure quickly began to establish itself as one of the most competitive, fastest growing car
insurance companies in the industry with press price comparison tables and case studies rating the company very highly.
esure home insurance - which offers its own enhanced no claim discount up to 45% - was initially
piloted in September 2001 and active marketing began in March 2002. In June 2002, esure hit the
headlines with the announcement of a policy of not offering home insurance to ground floor properties in areas which are not
adequately protected against repeated flooding. The aim of the policy was to prevent homeowners in low risk areas paying -
through their premiums - for floods that could be prevented and esure has consistently called on
the Government to improve defence arrangements in such areas.
In July 2002, esure began underwriting Sainsbury's Bank's Car Insurance product which offers a
number of unique benefits, such as the ROSPA-endorsed policy of replacing child car seats when a car is involved in an accident
(even if the seat appears undamaged) and £1,000 to be spent on counselling - or however the policyholder decides - if involved in
a road rage incident.
Finally, esure launched a telephone and online travel insurance product in January 2003. Its
benefits include some of the best medical, personal liability and baggage limits in the market - along with reduced prices for
single parents who buy a family policy when compared with other policies where a family automatically includes two adults.
esure's marketing has developed considerably in just a few years. For the first two years, television advertisements were
based on an innovative animated style including the blue man logo. These helped to establish the company as a new, cutting edge
insurer but were switched in October 2002 towards a more 'real life' style featuring Michael Winner in a number of deliberately
spoof accidents which have spawned the catchphrase: 'Calm down, Dear… its a commercial'. The ads have attracted huge attention -
with many people finding them the marketing equivalent of an unscratchable itch. In the process, they have achieved their main
objective - to increase awareness of esure and its benefits for good drivers and responsible
homeowners.
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