Newcomer joins jostle for e-commerce insurance pie

BACKED by an unwavering belief that there is huge growth potential in insurance e-commerce, newcomer Budget Direct Insurance is going head-to-head with the other players in a highly competitive and crowded market.

Set up by its chief executive Simon Birch and bankrolled by United Kingdom insurer BHL Group, the digital start-up has set its sights on getting a lion's share of the direct sales insurance market.

He said: "I think the bit that's so interesting about Singapore is that the potential for the direct businesses is enormous. If you look at the UK, it's 70 per cent direct, South Korea is 40 per cent direct, Australia is 90 per cent direct. It's kind of curious that Singapore is still so small in the direct side."