Recent decisions by a number of supermarkets to move in on the life insurance market are part of a much wider trend. Once supermarkets have consolidated their position as retail leaders with an enormous customer base, it is unsurprising that they turn to other ways of making money . The supermarket finance market has risen inexorably over the last few years, and is only set to increase further.
Just ten years ago, banks and high street operation were the only places to go for personal finance . This included credit cards, personal loans and various types of insurance . Currently, almost all of the major supermarket retailers are operating in the financial services market. Greenbee, released recently by the John Lewis Partnership, is a direct services company offering a range of financial services products.
Quickly, the moves have proven successful, with Tesco leading the field. Asda have over 1 million financial services customers, Sainsbury 1.5 million and Tesco over 5 million. The head of research at Sainsburys Bank said: "We have a very strong brand with a lot of goodwill and trust attached. Exactly ten years ago next month, we launched the bank to offer savings, loans and credit cards, but over time we have added to this with such products as car, home travel and pet insurance and Child Trust Funds . We're in constant dialogue with customers to improve the quality of what we offer and think this helps us stand out from other retailers. For example, with car insurance we offer a free child's car seat and with pet insurance we'll pay out for more than the standard 12 months."
Like any financial services product, if you are buying a life insurance policy from a supermarket, take care to shop around and find the best deal first.




