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Virgin Money, part of Sir Richard Branson's Virgin group,
aims to shake up the Australian financial services scene, launching a car
insurance product, which will be followed by deposits and loans in coming
months.
Sir Richard Branson launched Virgin Car Insurance in Sydney on Wednesday, saying he
could offer Australians 35 to 40 per cent cheaper car insurance than current
insurers.
"We have a team in Australia who look for businesses where consumers are being
taken for a ride," Sir Richard said.
"The challenge is to get people to compare, but we have a strong brand and we've
done this before."
Sir Richard said Virgin Money would also launch banking products over the next
12 to 24 months including deposits, personal loans, home loans and credit cards.
In the Australian car insurance market, most brands are owned by Insurance
Australia Group Ltd and Suncorp-Metway Ltd, who together hold about 75 per cent
of the market.
Sir Richard said Virgin Money was expecting to have 40,000 to 50,000 car
insurance customers by the end of 12 months, and would offer products capped for
two years, and 13 months for the price of 12, when customers sign up to
comprehensive cover online.
Virgin Money's car insurance will be underwritten by Auto & General Insurance
Company Ltd, one of South Africa's biggest general insurers, which is aiming to
expand in Australia.
Sir Richard said he wanted to take advantage of Virgin's brand strength in
Australia to sell the financial products.
"The Virgin brand is strong and we will be tying the brands together," he said.
That may involve offering deals on flights with airline V Australia for
customers of the financial products, Sir Richard said.
Virgin Money has a deal with Citigroup to provide banking products under the
Virgin brand.
Virgin Money managing director Matt Baxby said the company's aim was to sell
products mainly online, backed up by call centres. The company also may open
retail stores.
Mr Baxby, who was in charge of Virgin Money's UK business, said there was a big
opportunity in a banking market, now dominated by the big four banks.
The big four are Commonwealth Bank of Australia Ltd, Westpac Banking
Corporation, ANZ Banking Group Ltd and National Australia Bank Ltd.
"Our intention is to build a significant scale of business," Mr Baxby said.
In the UK, Virgin Money has about 2.5 million customers and revenue of about
STG100 million ($A183.03 million), he said.
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Virgin Car insurance will provide cover for 3rd party
liability, fire, theft, comprehensive, and property damage.
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