Línea Directa will begin selling its own brand policies on price comparison websites

Direct Line, one of Britain’s biggest insurers, is to start selling its own-brand policies on price comparison websites for the first time in a major shift in strategy.

Until now, the company has prided itself on dealing with customers directly rather than through portals such as Money Supermarket and Confused.

But yesterday chief executive Adam Winslow, who joined in March, said the policy needs to change and criticised previous bosses for not doing so sooner.

“Over the past five years, price comparison websites have continued to increase their share of new business from around 80 to 90 percent. Winning at price comparison is critical to growth,” Winslow said.

He added that Direct Line will launch “tailored” products on the sites but with a “clear differentiation” from those it continues to sell directly.

Other brands in the group – Churchill, Privilege, Darwin and By Miles – already use them.

The announcement was part of a major strategy as Direct Line reiterated plans to cut costs by £100m a year and said it would mean job cuts.

Winslow said he was focusing more on digital, meaning he would need a “different profile of resources and probably fewer resources,” including people.

He said any announcement about staff cuts would not be made without consulting staff. The company employs about 9,000 people.

Winslow is struggling to turn its fortunes around after a turbulent 2023 when its previous boss, Penny James, quit amid a profit warning.

Direct Line has also had to fend off interest from Belgian insurer Ageas, which rejected a £3.1bn takeover bid earlier this year.

Winslow said it had suffered from “underperformance” and had “lost its technical edge”. He added that the company would now “do fewer things better”, focusing on home and commercial insurance and breakdown cover, while exiting or reducing its presence in other areas, such as insurance partnerships with car manufacturers.

The shares rose 3.3 percent, or 6.3 pence, to 199.2 pence and are up almost 10 percent so far this year.

Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said Direct Line was “finally giving in” to what was “a significant turnaround for the business”.

“It has become second nature for people to shop for insurance through comparison sites, which are now often the first port of call for a quote,” Mould said.