Direct Line is an insurance company based in Bromley, England. Founded in 1985, as the country's first direct car insurance company, it has since expanded to offer a range of general insurance products. Its policies are underwritten by the regulated subsidiary UK Insurance Limited, and it is owned by the Direct Line Group. Company history Founded in Croydon by Martin Long and Peter Wood with £20 million from the Royal Bank of Scotland, Direct Line sold its first motor insurance policy in 1985. It was the first insurance company in the United Kingdom to underwrite using computers and sell insurance directly by telephone, thus removing the need for a broker and reducing costs. The company was also the first insurer in the United Kingdom to open its office in the evenings and weekends, and the first to offer a twenty four hour helpline. In 1988, it started to sell home insurance. Direct Line is renowned for having transformed financial services in the United Kingdom. The company grew by advertising in the national press, television and marketing to RBS customers. It launched a long standing mascot of a red telephone on wheels in 1989, which rapidly established high levels of recall among consumers. The mascot had altered slightly over the years; being accompanied by a red mouse on wheels to represent the company's website in 2005, which was dropped in 2020, with another re brand leaving the phone on its own once more. In September 2014, the brand worked with Saatchi and Saatchi to relaunch its advertising, which saw Hollywood actor Harvey Keitel reprise his role as the character Winston Wolfe from the 1994 film Pulp Fiction. The company had one million customers after eight years by June 2003. The company expanded with a series of new offshoots in the 1990s. In 1995, a Spanish offshoot, Linea Directa, started offering motor insurance in Spain. They expanded into travel insurance in 1996, pet insurance in 1997, and Direct Line Breakdown started offering breakdown insurance in 1998. Other global offshoots included Germany, Italy, and Japan. Their non general insurance products umbrella Direct Line Financial services launched their first non insurance product, Direct Line Personal Loan, in 1993, the following year, they started to offer mortgages, in 1995, Direct Line Life started offering life insurance, in 1996, they launched savings accounts and a PEP unit trust, and in 1998, the company started to offer