Insurer takes 38% stake in online platform for micro-business insurance.
Brit Insurance Holdings has made a £7m investment in technology firm Xbridge, giving it 38% stake in the business.
Xbridge is an insurance and finance technology platform specialising in owner-managed businesses, whose flagship brand “Simply Business” enables business owners to compare multiple business insurance quotes on-line and then buy.
The investment builds on an already successful relationship; Brit Insurance is already a major partner of Xbridge and has generated significant revenues since March 2007.
An additional loan facility will enable Xbridge to continue to develop its leading edge technology and marketing strategy.
Xbridge launched its comparative quote and buy insurance platform in July 2005, and to date has achieved premium volumes in excess of £15m.
Dane Douetil, chief executive of Brit Insurance Holdings, said: “On-line technology is the key to servicing the micro SME market, where the high volumes and relatively small contract sizes do not fit well with the traditional face to face models of broking and underwriting. This is an area of our business where we see some fantastic opportunities for growth in coming years.”
Peter Burrows, chief executive of Brit UK, said: “A growth rate of over 40% a year for the last two years is a clear endorsement for their unique ability to quote and bind insurance from a panel of insurers. Their first class execution combined with a strong management team and successful distribution makes a compelling proposition for our customers.”
Tony Deacon, chief executive of Xbridge, said: “Having successfully grown the company over the past few years, we were looking to step up our market presence and we passionately believe that the strong relationship that we have built with Brit Insurance provides an excellent foundation for this. The completion of this deal means that we now have a key strategic partnership in place to help drive our business forward.”
