Barclays Insurance is to take on the big direct brands with the relaunch of three personal lines products.
In an attack on the marketing spend of the direct writers, Barclays Insurance managing director Adrian Grace said he "didn't need to spend £50m per year on marketing to reach customers" and would use the money on products and services.
Barclays is looking to triple its customer base from 500,000 to 1.5 million within five years in its relaunched motor, home and travel offering underwritten by Norwich Union.
In motor ,the scheme is currently limited to over 20s with four years' no claims discount. But Grace said that by July it would be offering quotes for 97% of the market.
He said: "We want to be one of the top five insurers in five years time. "Barclays has 14 million customers and national network of branches to sell our products through."
Barclays Insurance plans to write to all of its existing group customers to inform them of the new offering.
