Premierline (Premierline Business Insurance Broker) is a UK based commercial

insurance broker An insurance broker is an intermediary who sells, solicits, or negotiates insurance on behalf of a client for compensation. An insurance broker is distinct from an insurance agent in that a broker typically acts on behalf of a client by negoti ...

based in

Lancaster, Lancashire Lancaster (, ) is a city and the county town of Lancashire, England, standing on the River Lune. Its population of 52,234 compares with one of 138,375 in the wider City of Lancaster local government district. The House of Lancaster was a bran ...

. The company offers a broker service for UK businesses. The commercial broker packages insurance products to sectors including retailers, pubs, restaurants, hotels and property owners.

History

Premierline Direct was the UK’s first direct commercial insurance operation offering business insurance to UK companies. The firm was originally founded by insurance entrepreneur, Barrie Wells alongside his business partner, Philippa Rothwell in 2001. The business was then sold to

Allianz Allianz ( , ) is a German multinational financial services company headquartered in Munich, Germany. Its core businesses are insurance and asset management. The company is one of the world's largest insurers and financial services groups. The ...

in 2006. Shortly after the acquisition, Premierline announced it would be quadrupling its marketing spend to £8m ahead of "aggressive" expansion plans in the UK. Allianz previously owned a 20% stake in the business and replaced

Zenith Insurance Company Zenith Insurance Company is an American insurance company headquartered in California specializing in workers' compensation insurance. It has been an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Canadian Fairfax Financial since 2010. Zenith operates nati ...

as the main underwriter in 2003. Following the acquisition by Allianz, the organisation saw the launch of two new brands within the business-to-business insurance market. Allianz Business Services Limited (ABSL) was formed as a parent company unifying these two new brands, Premierline Direct and Cornhill Direct Business. In 2014, Willis BusinessCare sold its BusinessCare company located in Preston, which focuses on micro and small enterprises, to Allianz. Following this acquisition, the company transacted new business under the brand of Premier BusinessCare as well as servicing its original customers under the retained trading name of Premierline. In 2019 it consolidated the brands to Premierline Business Insurance Broker, or Premierline for short.

Charity

As part of the

Group, Premierline organises and participates in a range of fundraising activities on behalf of their chosen charity partner. 2019 saw the launch of a three-year partnership with mental health organisation, Mind. Prior to this association, Allianz has supported other charitable organisations such as the Air Ambulance throughout the 2016-18 period. Some fundraising activities run concurrently with popular contests, and are based on popular TV shows such as

The Apprentice (British TV series) ''The Apprentice'' is a British business-styled reality game show created by Mark Burnett, distributed by Fremantle and broadcast by the BBC since 16 February 2005. Devised after the success of the American original and part of the internati ...

. In 2014, Premierline hosted their own version of the hit BBC show to raise money for St John’s Hospice.{{cite news, title=Lancaster firm inspired by Lord Sugar and The Apprentice, url=https://www.lancasterguardian.co.uk/news/lancaster-firm-inspired-by-lord-sugar-and-the-apprentice-1-6837958, accessdate=22 July 2019, newspaper=Lancaster Guardian, date=12 September 2014

References

External links

Official website
Allianz British companies established in 2001 Financial services companies established in 2001 Insurance companies of the United Kingdom Companies based in Lancaster, Lancashire 2001 establishments in the United Kingdom