Liverpool Victoria to hire 500

Bournemouth-based mutual insurance company Liverpool Victoria is embarking on an aggressive expansion drive in the UK, and will hire 500 people in a bid to become a top five provider.

The Independent says the firm plans to invest 150m in its general insurance business, and has kick-started its project by acquiring ABC Insurance Solutions, a recently formed general insurance business run by a team of former Royal Bank of Scotland executives.

"Customers are becoming increasingly sceptical of a City-oriented corporate world and there is a genuine opportunity for a mutual insurer to win customers' hearts and minds with a truly competitive offering," says John O'Rourke, former chief operating officer of RBS Insurance who is heading the expansion, the Independent reports.

Liverpool Victoria hopes to at least triple its business in five years.