Endsleigh Insurance is a Cheltenham-based UK insurance intermediary specialising in the student and graduate markets. It is the preferred insurer for several unions and professional associations.
The Endsleigh group consists of several parts including Endsleigh Insurance, Endsleigh Financial (EFIT) and Endsleigh Business (EBIS) Endsleigh Insurance offers a range of insurance products from car, home, travel and student insurance to landlords, public liability and tenant's cover. Endsleigh Financial offer's free financial advice for people seeking mortgages, pensions or life assurance polices, and Endsleigh Business offer's business's and company's professional insurance coverage to suit their needs. Endsleigh Insurance also has other trading names, such as '17to40' insurance, and 'Women on Wheels', which are both online car insurance websites aimed and specific niche markets. Endsleigh claims to have over 500,000 customers.
Endsleigh is currently the only official and approved insurer of The National Union of Students and is owned in full by Zurich Insurance which also runs it's UK operations from Cheltenham. In early 2009, managing director Mike Alcock moved to Zurich insurance to become head of UK distribution, paving the way for Ian Passmore to become the current Managing Director.
History
Endsleigh was founded by the National Union of Students (NUS) in 1965 to provide tailored insurance services to university and college students. It then quickly expanded into graduate and professionals markets. Since its founding it has been the only insurer recommended by the NUS and is now the preferred insurance supplier for many professional associations, including the National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers, Association of University Teachers and Association of Optometrists.
In 1976 the NUS sold an 86% share to Gouda Insurance International, as it was felt a stronger financial base was needed to fully exploit market opportunities. The NUS retained a 14% shareholding and 2 seats on the board. In April 2002, a management buyout, led by the Managing Director Mike Alcock, bought out Gouda and formed a partnership with Zurich Financial Services. In January 2007 Zurich acquired 100% shareholding.
The company moved into the business market in 2000, and this combined with a 25% increase in customer base helped profits leap from £2.5m in 2000 to £8.6m in 2003. In February 2005 the 'Sunday Times PricewaterhouseCooper Profit Track 100' rated Endsleigh as the 76th fastest growing company in the UK, at 52% a year.
From 1993 to 1996, Endsleigh sponsored the English Football League, succeeding Barclay's Bank and finally being replaced by Nationwide Building Society. From 1988-1999 Endsleigh were the main shirt sponsors for Burnley F.C., with their logo appearing on the players shirts, and they did the same for Cheltenham Town F.C. from 1997-1999.
As of 1 September 2008, Endsleigh will no longer operate their local branch service (119 UK Branches), but will instead be run from three sales operations centres, Cheltenham Head Office, Burnley, and Belfast. This has resulted in a number of redundancies within the branch network, although some existing staff will relocate to some of the new operations centres.
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