Whittington Completes Sale of UK Business to Focus on Asia Direct Insurance

Whittington Group, an international insurance investment business based in Singapore, said it has completed the sale of its U.K. business to a consortium of investors including Tawa plc, Skuld and Paraline Group Ltd.

The sale of Whittington Insurance Markets Ltd., a provider of turnkey managing agency services to Lloyd's start-ups, has received regulatory approval in the United Kingdom, said Singapore-based Whittington in a statement.

"The sale of the U.K. business marks the end of 18 years' history of the group in London and in the Lloyd's market but completes an important step in the group's strategy to focus on Asia markets," said Anthony Hobrow, group chief executive of Whittington, in a statement.

In Asia, Whittington launched DirectAsia.com in June 2010 in Singapore and it plans to expand the business into other Asian countries at an advanced stage. The proceeds from the sale "will be used mainly to finance the expansion of DirectAsia.com," an online insurer, to sell personal lines policies, said Whittington.

The direct insurer offers motor, travel, home and personal accident insurance, supported by a full-service on-line platform. The growth potential for direct insurance is high in Asian markets, given good Internet penetration and unexplored business potential, according to DirectAsia.com (Best's News Service, July 6, 2010).

DirectAsia.com has changed the way in which consumers buy personal insurance in Singapore, said Hobrow. "We believe the same business model will be equally welcomed in other Asian countries where Internet usage is high but agents remain the dominant source of insurance sales," he said.

Consumers are likely to increasingly go on the Web to research and shop for insurance, said consultancy Deloitte in its 2012 insurance outlook report. "An insurer's ability to be accessible 24/7 by offering multiple contact options — online, over mobile phones and in person — is becoming very important consideration when making a purchase decision," the report said.

(By Iris Lai, Hong Kong bureau manager: Iris.Lai@ambest.com)