Hastings Insurance Services Ltd is a UK personal lines

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 ...

servicing customers via smartphone mobile app, online, and by phone. The company provides car, bike, van and home insurance, as well as a range of ancillary products and services such as breakdown cover, personal accident, substitute vehicle and key and legal cover. The company also offers unsecured Personal Loans. It is part of the Hastings Group, a business which was listed on the

London Stock Exchange The London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange based in London, England. the total market value of all companies trading on the LSE stood at US$3.42 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St Paul's Cath ...

until it was acquired by a consortium of the South African business, Rand Merchant International, and the Finnish insurer,

Sampo Group Sampo is a northern European P&C insurance group with operations in the Nordics, Baltics, and the UK. Sampo is made up of the parent company Sampo plc, If P&C Insurance, Danish insurer Topdanmark and British P&C insurer Hastings Insurance. Th ...

, in November 2020.

History

The company was established, based on business plan prepared by David Gundlach and Andrew Bowen, as "Hastings Direct" in 1997. It was acquired by

Insurance Australia Group Insurance Australia Group Limited (IAG) is a multinational insurance company. It is the largest general insurance company in Australia, and also the largest in New Zealand through its subsidiary IAG New Zealand. IAG had its origins in the Na ...

in 2006 and then by its management in 2009. In 2011 the company announced that 150 new posts would be created, with the first 60 to be recruited in January in the Bexhill,

Hastings Hastings ( ) is a seaside town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to th ...

Eastbourne Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. It is also a non-metropolitan district, local government district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, bor ...

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

and

Hove Hove ( ) is a seaside resort in East Sussex, England. Alongside Brighton, it is one of the two main parts of the city of Brighton and Hove. Originally a fishing village surrounded by open farmland, it grew rapidly in the 19th century in respon ...

areas.

Goldman Sachs The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational investment bank and financial services company. Founded in 1869, Goldman Sachs is headquartered in Lower Manhattan in New York City, with regional headquarters in many internationa ...

acquired a 50% interest in the company in 2013. The company was the subject of an

initial public offering An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investm ...

in October 2015.

Operations

The company trades under the Hastings Direct, Hastings Premier, Hastings Essential, YouDrive, People's Choice and InsurePink brands. In 2012, the company launched a

usage-based insurance Usage-based insurance (UBI), also known as pay as you drive (PAYD), pay how you drive (PHYD) and mile-based auto insurance, is a type of vehicle insurance whereby the costs are dependent upon type of vehicle used, measured against time, distance, b ...

product under the Hastings Direct YouDrive brand. The YouDrive product requires a

telematics Telematics is an interdisciplinary field encompassing telecommunications, vehicular technologies (road transport, road safety, etc.), electrical engineering (sensors, instrumentation, wireless communications, etc.), and computer science (multimedia ...

device to be fitted to the insured vehicle. Insurance policies provided by the company are issued by a panel of insurers, including Advantage Insurance Company Limited, a Gibraltar based company. The company is known for its mascot, Harry Hastings, an animated figure dressed in armour from the

Battle of Hastings The Battle of Hastings was fought on 14 October 1066 between the Norman-French army of William, Duke of Normandy, and an English army under the Anglo-Saxon King Harold Godwinson, beginning the Norman Conquest of England. It took place appr ...

in 1066. He is also known for singing a catchy tune of the number 0800 00 1066 (with the final 4-digit number being a reference about the

.) Based in

Bexhill-on-Sea Bexhill-on-Sea (often shortened to Bexhill) is a seaside town and civil parish in the Rother District in the county of East Sussex in South East England. It is located along the Sussex Coast and between the towns of Hastings, England, Hastings ...

, the company is one of the largest employers on the South Coast. The company also has a second call centre in Leicester. Toby van der Meer became the CEO of Hastings Group on 1 March 2018. The previous CEO, Gary Hoffman, became non-executive chairman. In August 2020 it was announced that the company would be acquired by a consortium of the South African business, Rand Merchant International, and the Finnish insurer,

, for £1.7 billion. The transaction was completed on 16 November 2020.

Sponsorship

The company sponsored the

Eastbourne International The Eastbourne Open (also known as Eastbourne International, formerly Rothesay) is a tennis tournament on the WTA Tour and the ATP Tour held at the Devonshire Park Lawn Tennis Club, Eastbourne, United Kingdom. Held since 1974, it is classified as ...

tennis tournament between 2003 and 2007 in a deal worth £350,000 per year.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Financial services companies established in 1997 Insurance companies of the United Kingdom Companies based in East Sussex