Direct Line plans to cut 2,000 jobs

European motor insurers have been faced with sluggish price growth because of intense competition, exacerbated in the past decade by the rise of price-comparison websites.

“This is another step in the ongoing transformation of Direct Line Group and an important part of our aim to regain competitive edge,” chief executive Paul Geddes said.

Britain’s biggest car insurer, which employs about 15,000 people, has since 2010 been cutting costs and avoiding high-risk drivers to protect itself from stiff competition and new regulation in the British motor insurance market.

Last year, Direct Line said it was seeking to save £100m a year by the end of 2014 and said it planned to cut nearly 900 jobs as part of a plan to make it more profitable, ahead of a stock market listing. It floated in October 2012.

Direct Line has about 3,750 staff at its three sites in Leeds and one in Doncaster, part of about 15,100 staff across the group.