Direct line insurance and the Royal Bank of Scotland, 1985 to 1995: Technology, strategy and diversification

Bernardo Bátiz-Lazo*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

Abstract

Direct Line Insurance was born out of the diversification strategies of the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS). Within ten years of its foundation it had become the first retail finance institution to establish a clear competitive advantage based on applications of information technology. Direct Line is best understood as a series of technological and competitive innovations that call into question the extent to which banks' competencies must change to master alternative delivery channels to the «brick and mortar» retail branch. The success of Direct Line also highlights issues in the incursion of banks into bankassurance and the development of a business model based on fee-income (as opposed to the traditional interest-income).

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)54-72
Number of pages19
JournalZeitschrift fur Unternehmensgeschichte
Volume58
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Apr 2013
Externally publishedYes

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