Esure
Esure is a UK personal lines insurer providing motor, home, and travel insurance direct-to-consumer under the esure, Sheilas' Wheels, and First Alternative brands, distributed via website, app, price comparison websites, and call centres. Acquired by Ageas in September 2025 for £1.295 billion, it now forms part of the third-largest UK personal lines platform.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2000
- HeadquartersGlasgow, United Kingdom
- Headcount1,001–5,000
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Esure does
Esure is a UK-based personal lines insurance company founded in 2000, specialising in motor, home, and travel insurance distributed primarily direct-to-consumer. The company operates three brands — esure, Sheilas' Wheels (targeting women drivers), and First Alternative — and runs multi-channel distribution combining its own website and iOS/Android mobile app, third-party price comparison websites, and UK-based call centre operations in Manchester and Glasgow, with a head office in Reigate, Surrey and a travel insurance office in Southend-on-Sea. The product portfolio is anchored by esure Car Insurance (with a standard variant and a more flexible "esure Flex" product), esure Home Insurance (buildings, contents, and combined policies, including the Advantage Home Insurance variant), and esure Travel Insurance, supplemented by a wide set of add-on modules covering breakdown, windscreen, motor legal protection, personal accident, key cover, misfuelling, excess protection, home emergency, family legal protection, pest cover, personal possessions, accidental damage, laptop, mobile phone, and garden cover.
The business model is built on subscription-style annual insurance premiums with quote-based pricing, plus fee income from policy changes (£15 online / £27 assisted for car policies) and cancellations (£26–£67 depending on policy period). Underwriting and risk selection are supported by automated pricing algorithms and predictive analytics, drawing on a data stack that integrates with DVLA, HPI, Carweb, Lexis Nexis, Experian, MIB, and CIFAS, with AI-assisted digital conversations used in live chat. Core policy administration for the home book was migrated to the EIS (Euler Hermes Group) platform in May 2025, while travel insurance is sold and administered by Hood Travel Limited and underwritten by ERGO Travel Insurance Services and Great Lakes Insurance UK, and home emergency/pest cover is underwritten by Inter Partner Assistance (AXA Assistance Group). Esure is FCA-regulated (esure Services Limited FRN 312063; esure Insurance Limited FRN Z4976665), FSCS-protected, and compliant with UK GDPR and the Modern Slavery Act 2015.
On 29 September 2025, esure was acquired by Ageas (UK) Limited for £1.295 billion, transitioning from London Stock Exchange listing to a wholly-owned subsidiary within the Ageas UK Group. The acquisition positioned the combined Ageas UK platform (which also includes Saga) as the third-largest personal lines insurer in the UK, behind Admiral (14% market share) and Direct Line Group (10.8%) and broadly level with Aviva (10.5%), within a UK motor market valued at approximately £16 billion. Following the transaction, esure employs approximately 1,110 staff across three UK sites, down from a 2021 peak of 1,678, reflecting multi-year operational efficiency.
Esure firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Esure
- Legal name
- esure Group Plc
- Website
- https://esure.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2000
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1,001–5,000 employees
- Short description
- Esure is a UK personal lines insurer providing motor, home, and travel insurance direct-to-consumer under the esure, Sheilas' Wheels, and First Alternative brands, distributed via website, app, price comparison websites, and call centres. Acquired by Ageas in September 2025 for £1.295 billion, it now forms part of the third-largest UK personal lines platform.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Esure industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Personal Lines Insurance
- NAICS
- Direct Insurance (except Life, Health, and Medical) Carriers (52412)
- SIC
- Fire, Marine & Casualty Insurance (6331)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Retail (Personal Lines) Insurance Brokerage (FSAEADAA)
Keywords
Where Esure is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Glasgow
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices4 records
Markets served
Esure business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Car Insurance Premiums: Primary revenue stream from motor insurance policies. The company offers esure Car Insurance and esure Flex Car Insurance products.
- Home Insurance Premiums: Revenue from buildings and contents insurance products, including various optional extras such as accidental damage, personal possessions, pest cover, and home emergency cover.
- Travel Insurance Premiums: Revenue from travel insurance products sold and administered by Hood Travel Limited, underwritten by ERGO Travel Insurance Services and Great Lakes Insurance UK.
- Optional Extras and Add-ons: Additional revenue from optional add-on products including breakdown assistance, windscreen cover, motor legal protection, personal injury cover, key cover, and excess protection.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | esure Car Insurance - Standard product |
| Subscription | Annual | esure Flex Car Insurance - Flexible product |
| Subscription | Annual | Home Insurance |
| Subscription | Annual | Travel Insurance |
| Subscription | Annual | Multicar Discount |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels7 records
Esure product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Esure is a UK personal lines insurer selling motor, home, and travel insurance policies directly to consumers through its website, mobile app, and call centres. Its core products are car insurance (original and Flex variants), buildings and contents home insurance, and single-trip and annual multi-trip travel insurance, with numerous optional add-on covers such as breakdown assistance, windscreen, motor legal protection, home emergency, family legal protection, and pest cover.
Product overview
Esure is a UK-based insurance company offering motor, home, and travel insurance products through multiple brands (esure, Sheilas' Wheels, and First Alternative). The core product portfolio consists of esure Car Insurance (with standard and Flex variants), esure Home Insurance (with buildings, contents, and combined options), and esure Travel Insurance. These are supplemented by numerous optional add-on modules for both car insurance (breakdown assistance, windscreen cover, motor legal protection, personal accident, key cover, misfuelling cover, excess protection, multicar discounts) and home insurance (home emergency, family legal protection, pest insurance, personal possessions, accidental damage, laptop, mobile phone, and garden coverage). The company also offers a digital app for policy management and recently expanded its offerings through acquisition by Belgian insurer Ageas.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- esure Car Insurance: Original car insurance product offering comprehensive coverage for vehicles.
- esure Flex Car Insurance
- esure Home Insurance
- esure Travel Insurance
- Advantage Home Insurance
- esure Multicar Insurance
Products and services
- esure Car Insurance
- esure Flex Car Insurance
- esure Multicar Insurance
- esure Electric Car Insurance
- esure Home Insurance
- Advantage Home Insurance
- esure Tenants Insurance
- esure Travel Insurance
- esure App
- Sheilas' Wheels
- First Alternative
Quantifiable outcome
- Complaints resolved within 3 days: 44.5%
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Esure
Customer profileNamed customers1 record
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Esure technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration15 records
AI capability5 records
Feature3 records
Esure partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- RACcoreRAC provides 24-hour breakdown assistance, accident recovery, windscreen repair, and misfuelling services for esure car insurance customers.
- Inter Partner Assistance SA (IPA)coreIPA, part of AXA Assistance Group, underwrites home emergency and pest cover add-on products for esure home insurance policies.
- Hood Travel LimitedcoreHood Travel Limited sells and administers esure travel insurance products. Travel claims are managed through their platform.
- ERGO Travel Insurance Services LimitedcoreETI underwrites core elements of esure travel insurance on behalf of Great Lakes Insurance UK Limited.
Scale indicators8 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Esure competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Aviva: Top-three UK personal lines player (~10.5% motor share) offering car, home and travel cover through similar digital and intermediated channels. Closely comparable on product breadth and price-comparison-website distribution.
- Direct Line Group: UK P&C insurer behind Direct Line, Churchill, Privilege and Darwin brands, holding ~10.8% of the motor market. Direct comparable on multi-brand personal lines strategy and UK-only footprint.
- Hastings Group: Data-driven UK direct personal lines insurer operating car, home and van cover through price-comparison websites. Direct comparable on digital-first DTC model and core vertical of standard motor.
- Admiral Group: Largest UK personal lines insurer (~14% motor market share) and the most direct competitor to esure. Compares on price-comparison-website distribution, direct-to-consumer model, and similar product mix spanning car and home insurance.
- Saga plc: UK specialist personal lines and travel insurer focused on the over-50s demographic; also acquired by Ageas in 2025, making it a same-parent peer with overlap in UK motor, home and travel product lines.
- Liverpool Victoria (LV=): UK mutual offering car, home, travel and pet insurance with a strong direct and intermediary presence. Comparable on personal lines product breadth and multi-channel distribution.
- BGL Group: Owner of compare-the-market.com and the Budget and Bennetts brands. Comparable as a price-comparison-website-driven personal lines competitor with overlapping motor and home products.
Broad incumbents
- Ageas: Belgian parent insurer that completed the £1.295B acquisition of esure in 2025. Comparable as the broad UK personal lines carrier under which esure now sits, with shared product, distribution and brand-portfolio overlap.
Regional players
- NFU Mutual: UK mutual primarily serving rural and farming customers with motor, home and commercial policies. Comparable product set though distributed through an agency model rather than direct/PCW channels.
Others
- RAC Insurance: UK breakdown provider that also underwrites personal lines through partnerships (it provides breakdown and windscreen services for esure). Adjacent peer via motor insurance distribution and roadside assistance ecosystem.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Esure social profiles
Digital presenceEsure compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance4 records
Esure financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Esure leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
Esure funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Esure M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Esure
What does Esure do?
Esure is a UK personal lines insurer selling motor, home, and travel insurance policies directly to consumers through its website, mobile app, and call centres. Its core products are car insurance (original and Flex variants), buildings and contents home insurance, and single-trip and annual multi-trip travel insurance, with numerous optional add-on covers such as breakdown assistance, windscreen, motor legal protection, home emergency, family legal protection, and pest cover.
Is Esure a public or private company?
Esure is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was Esure founded?
Esure was founded in 2000. It employs 1,001 to 5,000 people.
Where is Esure based?
Esure is headquartered in Glasgow, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Esure make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Car Insurance Premiums are the primary driver. The others are home Insurance Premiums, travel Insurance Premiums and optional Extras and Add-ons.
Who are Esure's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Aviva, Direct Line Group, Hastings Group, Admiral Group, Saga plc, Liverpool Victoria (LV=) and BGL Group. Ageas is listed as a broad incumbent. NFU Mutual is listed as a regional player. RAC Insurance is listed as an others.
Does Esure have an API?
No public API is recorded for Esure.
What industry is Esure in?
Esure's product category is Personal Lines Insurance. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSAEADAA, Retail (Personal Lines) Insurance Brokerage. Its NAICS code is 52412 and its SIC code is 6331.