Direct Line, part of the Direct Line Group, is a company that specialises in selling insurance and other financial services sold directly to consumers by telephone and the internet.
It was the first telephone insurer in the UK when launched in 1985 by founder Peter Wood, and soon became the UK's largest provider of motor vehicle insurance. Its head office is located in Croydon, but the company also has offices in Glasgow, Bristol, Birmingham, Leeds, and Manchester. Overseas, the division has expanded into Spain (Línea Directa), Japan (in partnership with Yasuda Life), Germany, and Italy.
The company was part of the Royal Bank of Scotland Group's (RBS) insurance division until 2012, when the division was partially separated to form a new business, the Direct Line Group. While part of RBS, Direct Line was effectively nationalised alongside RBS in November 2008 during the banking crisis, due to the financial crisis, and RBS's dependency on UK taxpayers' money.
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