SME Insurer Premierline Celebrates 10th Birthday

LONDON, November 3, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

Small business insurance provider, Premierline Direct, is this week celebrating its 10^th anniversary.

On November 2,2001, the Lancaster-based firm wrote the UK's first direct business insurance policy. The Company has grown significantly in the last decade and now employs over 150 people and has in excess of 26,000 customers.

The firm was originally founded by insurance entrepreneur, Barrie Wells, and became the first insurer in the UK to focus solely on providing direct business insurance. In 2006, the Company was acquired by global insurance giant, Allianz.

Duncan Carter, the current head of Premierline Direct, says: "Premierline was the first to make it possible for businesses to buy their insurance direct, setting new standards for speed, service and value. We continue to pride ourselves on these qualities ten years on."

To celebrate its anniversary, the SME insurance provider is offering customers who obtain a quote from its website the chance to win up-to £10,000 in shopping vouchers. For your chance to win, please visit http://www.premierlinedirect.co.uk for a quote.

Notes to Editors:

1. As the UK's first direct business insurance provider, Premierline Direct helped transform the way business insurance was bought, setting new standards for speed, service and value. Premierline Direct provides cover to a wide range of industries from shops and offices to hotels and manufacturing, tailoring its insurance packages to meet the diverse needs of each business. Premierline Direct is a trading name of Allianz Business Services Limited which is a wholly-owned of subsidiary of Allianz Insurance plc.

2. Allianz Insurance is one of the largest general insurers in the UK and part of the Allianz SE Group,  the largest property and casualty insurer worldwide. Reassuringly in these uncertain financial times, in July 2011 the Standard and Poor's rating for Allianz Insurance was reaffirmed as AA- with a stable outlook and the rating of Allianz SE was also reaffirmed as AA with a stable outlook.

SOURCE Allianz Insurance plc