Direct Line car insurance is available for the first time on a price comparison site

Households looking for insurance deals will be able to find Direct Line policies on a price comparison website for the first time, in a historic change of approach.

The insurer, which has long advertised that its policies are not available on price comparison sites as its sole selling point, on Friday launched three new products only available to users of a certain platform.

This follows a restructure announced in July under new boss Adam Winslow, who said the group must change its policy towards price comparison sites and criticized previous chief executives for not doing so sooner.

Direct Line, which is in the process of being acquired by insurance giant Aviva, will debut with motor policies, 90 per cent of which are currently purchased on price comparison sites.

The three new policies range from basic covers to premium covers and are “designed specifically for” users of price comparison sites, Direct Line said.

He added: ‘They offer coverage features other than car insurance products that are also available to customers who buy direct.

“A key differential is that the new products provide digital-only services, apart from claims, where a telephone service still exists.”

Direct Line told its shareholders earlier this year that it wanted to “deliver sustained, profitable growth” in the motor sector by focusing on “pricing and underwriting, customer experience, claims and distribution”.

Ahead of Aviva’s £3.6bn acquisition of the group, Direct Line is carrying out a £100m cost savings program which will see 550 job cuts.

Direct Line said it would continue to sell products directly to consumers, “providing a wide range of coverage with access to the telephone and online customer service that direct customers expect and enjoy.”

Winslow added: “We are delivering a key pillar of our corporate strategy, demonstrating how we can move at pace to meet the changing needs of our customers.”

Initially, the three new policies will only be available on Compare the Market before rolling out elsewhere.