Churchill (insurance)
Encyclopedia
Churchill is a UK
insurance
company based in Bromley
, London
. Founded in 1989 as one of the country’s first direct car insurance companies, the company has expanded to offer a range of general insurance products. Churchill is a member of the Royal Bank of Scotland Group.
Churchill is famous for its iconic advertising that features a talking nodding dog mascot.
, at that time a Credit Suisse
subsidiary. One of Long’s early team members, Henry Engelhardt
, went on to found Admiral
.
Home insurance
was added to the Churchill product range in 1990.
The company grew over the next few years and in October 1993 signed a three year deal to sponsor the World Indoor Bowls Championship.
1994 saw the adoption of a bulldog as the company’s mascot.
In 1995 Churchill launched its first website
and a credit card
. It also became the first UK insurer to offer motor insurance estimates via interactive media kiosks.
In 1996 Churchill was awarded Investors in People
and ISO9002 accreditation. This was also the year that the nodding dog was introduced to its advertising. A new product was also launched in the shape of breakdown cover
, provided in association with Green Flag
.
Churchill Insurance was named in Britain’s Best Employers for the first time in 1997, the year the company moved to its current headquarters, Churchill Court. Travel insurance
and pet insurance
products were also introduced.
Motorcycle insurance broker Devitt was acquired in 1999. The company also launched its first e-commerce facility, enabling online car and home insurance quotes.
The following year it acquired the Churchill.com name for online activity and acquired NIG. 2000 also saw it win its first Your Money Awards and it became shirt sponsors of Crystal Palace FC, the football team Martin Long supported and would eventually share the chairmanship of.
Churchill bought Prudential
’s insurance business in 2002 before it too were purchased. RBS paid Credit Suisse
£1.1bn for the insurer in 2003, bringing Churchill into its insurance division alongside Direct Line
– another company Long had been involved in launching.
In 2006 the high profile "Challenge Churchill" campaign was launched, involving the people of Britain challenging the brand mascot to find them cheaper car and home insurance.
A new look website went live in October 2008. The following year the company adopted a new strapline: "Count on Churchill". Television adverts were launched featuring the Churchill dog alongside celebrities including Rolf Harris CBE
and Roy Walker
.
Churchill will find itself under new ownership by 2013. Following the bail-out of RBS by the UK government in 2008, the EU demanded that certain Group assets be sold off, including the company's insurance division. It is anticipated that the RBS companies will float on the stock market as a stand-alone insurance company.
In addition to the Your Money Awards, Churchill was voted Travel Insurer of the Year 2005 in the International Travel Insurance Journal Awards and Customer Service Complaints Team of the Year in The National Customer Service Awards.
A staff competition led to the adoption of a bulldog. The first Churchill dog was a real bulldog called Lucas. The company first used a nodding dog in 1996.
The company started selling Churchill nodding dogs in 1997 and the character is now synonymous with the brand name.
In the company's TV advertising the computer-animated Churchill dog is asked whether he can save people money on their insurance to which he responds with his famous catchphrase: "oh yes!".
Churchill's "oh yes" catchphrase is believed to be an impersonation of Potter the janitor (played by Deryck Guyler
) the 1970s TV series Please Sir!
.
Churchill is voiced by Bob Mortimer
. Older ads had Mortimer's voice responding to questions posed by his comedy partner Vic Reeves
, but Reeves was removed from the ads after he was convicted of drink driving in 2005.
A Churchill hot air balloon was unveiled in 2004 and was the UK’s largest special shaped hot air balloon. It measured 34 metres wide by 24 metres high and stretched wide and far enough to accommodate 50,000 real bulldogs or 1.3 million nodding dogs. The balloon appears at numerous events across the country (notably the Bristol International Balloon Fiesta
and the London Marathon
).
In recent years talking soft toys have been added to the range of Churchill merchandise and the character has also launched his own page on social networking site Facebook
.
In 2009 Churchill starred in 22 pantomimes around the UK. In the summer of 2010 he made appearances at Pontins holiday camps before returning for his second panto run.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
insurance
Insurance
In law and economics, insurance is a form of risk management primarily used to hedge against the risk of a contingent, uncertain loss. Insurance is defined as the equitable transfer of the risk of a loss, from one entity to another, in exchange for payment. An insurer is a company selling the...
company based in Bromley
Bromley
Bromley is a large suburban town in south east London, England and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Bromley. It was historically a market town, and prior to 1963 was in the county of Kent and formed the administrative centre of the Municipal Borough of Bromley...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. Founded in 1989 as one of the country’s first direct car insurance companies, the company has expanded to offer a range of general insurance products. Churchill is a member of the Royal Bank of Scotland Group.
Churchill is famous for its iconic advertising that features a talking nodding dog mascot.
History
Churchill Insurance was launched by founder Martin Long in June 1989 as a direct car insurance provider. Long was backed by WinterthurWinterthur Group
AXA Winterthur is a multinational insurance company. The original company named Winterthur was founded in Winterthur, Switzerland, in 1875. Until June 2006, Winterthur was a Credit Suisse subsidiary. Now, Paris-based AXA Insurance has entered into a definitive agreement to purchase Winterthur...
, at that time a Credit Suisse
Credit Suisse
The Credit Suisse Group AG is a Swiss multinational financial services company headquartered in Zurich, with more than 250 branches in Switzerland and operations in more than 50 countries.-History:...
subsidiary. One of Long’s early team members, Henry Engelhardt
Henry Engelhardt
Henry Allan Engelhardt is the founder and Chief Executive of Admiral Group, one of the United Kingdom's leading insurers.-Career:Chicago-born Henry Engelhardt was educated at the University of Michigan...
, went on to found Admiral
Admiral Group
Admiral Group plc is a motor insurance company with its head office in Cardiff, Wales. Listed on the London Stock Exchange, it is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.-History:...
.
Home insurance
Home insurance
Home insurance, also commonly called hazard insurance or homeowner's insurance , is the type of property insurance that covers private homes...
was added to the Churchill product range in 1990.
The company grew over the next few years and in October 1993 signed a three year deal to sponsor the World Indoor Bowls Championship.
1994 saw the adoption of a bulldog as the company’s mascot.
In 1995 Churchill launched its first website
Website
A website, also written as Web site, web site, or simply site, is a collection of related web pages containing images, videos or other digital assets. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet...
and a credit card
Credit card
A credit card is a small plastic card issued to users as a system of payment. It allows its holder to buy goods and services based on the holder's promise to pay for these goods and services...
. It also became the first UK insurer to offer motor insurance estimates via interactive media kiosks.
In 1996 Churchill was awarded Investors in People
Investors in People
Launched in 1991 Investors in People is a business improvement tool administered by UK Commission for Employment and Skills and supported by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills ....
and ISO9002 accreditation. This was also the year that the nodding dog was introduced to its advertising. A new product was also launched in the shape of breakdown cover
Breakdown cover
Breakdown cover is a service that provides assistance to motorists whose vehicles have suffered a mechanical failure that is significant enough to leave them stranded at their present location....
, provided in association with Green Flag
Green Flag
Green Flag is a roadside rescue company based in the UK. It was formed in 1971 as the National Breakdown Recovery Club and operated under this name under the ownership of National Car Parks until 1994, when it was renamed Green Flag as a symbolic brand name...
.
Churchill Insurance was named in Britain’s Best Employers for the first time in 1997, the year the company moved to its current headquarters, Churchill Court. Travel insurance
Travel insurance
Travel insurance is insurance that is intended to cover medical expenses, financial default of travel suppliers, and other losses incurred while traveling, either within one's own country, or internationally...
and pet insurance
Pet insurance
Pet health insurance pays the veterinary costs if one's pet becomes ill or is injured in an accident. Some policies will also pay out when the pet dies, or if it's lost or stolen....
products were also introduced.
Motorcycle insurance broker Devitt was acquired in 1999. The company also launched its first e-commerce facility, enabling online car and home insurance quotes.
The following year it acquired the Churchill.com name for online activity and acquired NIG. 2000 also saw it win its first Your Money Awards and it became shirt sponsors of Crystal Palace FC, the football team Martin Long supported and would eventually share the chairmanship of.
Churchill bought Prudential
Prudential plc
Prudential plc is a multinational financial services company headquartered in London, United Kingdom.Prudential's largest division is Prudential Corporation Asia, which has over 15 million customers across 13 Asian markets and is a top-three provider of life insurance in mainland China, Hong...
’s insurance business in 2002 before it too were purchased. RBS paid Credit Suisse
Credit Suisse
The Credit Suisse Group AG is a Swiss multinational financial services company headquartered in Zurich, with more than 250 branches in Switzerland and operations in more than 50 countries.-History:...
£1.1bn for the insurer in 2003, bringing Churchill into its insurance division alongside Direct Line
Direct Line
Direct Line is part of the RBS Insurance division of the Royal Bank of Scotland Group that specialises in selling insurance and other financial services over the phone and internet....
– another company Long had been involved in launching.
In 2006 the high profile "Challenge Churchill" campaign was launched, involving the people of Britain challenging the brand mascot to find them cheaper car and home insurance.
A new look website went live in October 2008. The following year the company adopted a new strapline: "Count on Churchill". Television adverts were launched featuring the Churchill dog alongside celebrities including Rolf Harris CBE
Rolf Harris
Rolf Harris, CBE, AM is an Australian musician, singer-songwriter, composer, painter and television personality.Born in Perth, Western Australia, Harris was a champion swimmer before studying art. He moved to England in 1952, where he started to appear on television programmes on which he drew the...
and Roy Walker
Roy Walker
Robert "Roy" Walker is a television personality and comedian from Northern Ireland, who worked for many years as both a television presenter and comedy actor...
.
Churchill will find itself under new ownership by 2013. Following the bail-out of RBS by the UK government in 2008, the EU demanded that certain Group assets be sold off, including the company's insurance division. It is anticipated that the RBS companies will float on the stock market as a stand-alone insurance company.
Awards
The Your Money Awards are short-listed by a panel of Your Money readers. Readers then rate the providers on service and product quality. Churchill has been recognised in this way through the following awards:- Best Online Pet Insurance Provider 2010
- Best Online Pet Insurance Provider 2009
- Best Direct Car Insurer 2008
- Best Home and Contents Insurance Provider 2008
- Best Online Motor Insurance Provider 2007
- Best Online Home and Contents Provider 2007
- Best Motor Insurance Provider 2006
- Best Online Motor Insurance Provider 2006
- Best Online Travel Insurance Provider 2006
- Best Home and Contents Insurance Provider 2005
- Best Online Home and Contents Insurance Provider 2004
In addition to the Your Money Awards, Churchill was voted Travel Insurer of the Year 2005 in the International Travel Insurance Journal Awards and Customer Service Complaints Team of the Year in The National Customer Service Awards.
The Churchill dog
In 1994 it was decided that the company needed a mascot to represent the Churchill brand and differentiate it from former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill.A staff competition led to the adoption of a bulldog. The first Churchill dog was a real bulldog called Lucas. The company first used a nodding dog in 1996.
The company started selling Churchill nodding dogs in 1997 and the character is now synonymous with the brand name.
In the company's TV advertising the computer-animated Churchill dog is asked whether he can save people money on their insurance to which he responds with his famous catchphrase: "oh yes!".
Churchill's "oh yes" catchphrase is believed to be an impersonation of Potter the janitor (played by Deryck Guyler
Deryck Guyler
Deryck Guyler was an English actor, best known for his portrayal of officious, short-tempered middle-aged men in sitcoms such as Please Sir! and Sykes.-Early life:...
) the 1970s TV series Please Sir!
Please Sir!
Please Sir! was a London Weekend Television produced situation comedy, created by writers John Esmonde and Bob Larbey and featured the actors John Alderton, Deryck Guyler, Joan Sanderson, Noel Howlett, Erik Chitty and Richard Davies...
.
Churchill is voiced by Bob Mortimer
Bob Mortimer
Robert "Bob" Renwick Mortimer is an English comedian and actor, who is best known for his double act with Vic Reeves...
. Older ads had Mortimer's voice responding to questions posed by his comedy partner Vic Reeves
Vic Reeves
James Roderick Moir , better known by the stage name Vic Reeves, is an English comedian, best known for his double act with Bob Mortimer . He is known for his surreal and non sequitur sense of humour....
, but Reeves was removed from the ads after he was convicted of drink driving in 2005.
A Churchill hot air balloon was unveiled in 2004 and was the UK’s largest special shaped hot air balloon. It measured 34 metres wide by 24 metres high and stretched wide and far enough to accommodate 50,000 real bulldogs or 1.3 million nodding dogs. The balloon appears at numerous events across the country (notably the Bristol International Balloon Fiesta
Bristol International Balloon Fiesta
The Bristol International Balloon Fiesta is held annually during August in Bristol, England. Teams from the UK and other parts of the world bring their hot air balloons to the site and participate in mass ascents where as many as 100 balloons may launch at a time.The event was first held in 1979...
and the London Marathon
London Marathon
The London Marathon is one of the biggest running events in the world, and one of the five top world marathons that make up the World Marathon Majors competition, which has a $1 million prize purse. It has been held each spring in London since 1981. The race is currently sponsored by Virgin Money,...
).
In recent years talking soft toys have been added to the range of Churchill merchandise and the character has also launched his own page on social networking site Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
.
In 2009 Churchill starred in 22 pantomimes around the UK. In the summer of 2010 he made appearances at Pontins holiday camps before returning for his second panto run.