Tesco, the supermarket giant, will expand its insurance activities by selling life insurance. Although Tesco has previously focused its insurance business on car insurance, it is expected to build up its provision of other types of cover, such as life, home, travel, and pet assurance.
The retail giant is also adding to its banking operations and building up its call centre staff, before an expected move to create a full service retail bank and insurance spin-off. It has already taken £4.5 billion in customer deposits, but now is keen to increase the profits from its services, including insurance and banking, online shopping and mobile phones.
Michael Lafferty, chairman of the retail financial research company Lafferty Group, thinks that Tesco can make inroads in the financial services industry, “There may be short-term issues, but they are really on the right track.”
