belairdirect celebrates 60 years of providing simplified insurance to Canadians

From Quebec taxi insurance provider to offering home & car insurance across Canada

TORONTO, March 9, 2015 /CNW/ - Today, belairdirect is celebrating its diamond anniversary. The wholly-owned Canadian company was originally founded by the Diamond Taxicab Association of Montreal Ltd., 60 years ago, in order to serve its 2,000 members who were having trouble getting their taxis insured. Within the next year, belairdirect will be providing home and car insurance directly to almost 750,000 Canadians.

"Providing simplified insurance solutions to customers is as important to us today as it was 60 years ago," said Carla Smith, Vice-President, Ontario Region, belairdirect. "Whether we are connecting with our customers online or by phone, our goal is to make the process easy and ensure that we are delivering the best direct insurance experience."

With strong roots in Quebec, a growing presence in Ontario over the last 20 years, and the recent news about the consolidation of the belairdirect and Grey Power brands – belairdirect will also soon be available to customers in Alberta, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia.

"The last 60 years have been a remarkable journey for the company," said Ms. Smith. "Looking ahead, we will continue to evolve to meet our customers' changing needs.  Our top priorities – customer care, innovation and growth – remain very much the same."

Looking back
The name belairdirect is a tribute to one of the most popular cars during the 1950s – the Chevrolet Bel Air – which was driven by many of the taxi drivers at the time. The word direct was added to the company name in 1996 when it launched its website. One year later, it became the first insurance company in the world to offer Canadians the ability to get a car insurance quote and purchase it directly online. 

Other examples of belairdirect's innovative products include:

• Drivers can protect their good driving record and prevent insurance premiums from increasing for their first at-fault accident with the Crash-Proof Policy^TM
• Assessing an individual's driving skills to reward them with discounts with automerit®
• Bumping calls and messages while driving with its bumpr^TM app to help curb distracted driving
• Providing customers with a car insurance quote in three minutes with its new quick quote tool

About belairdirect
Founded in Quebec in 1955, belairdirect provides car and home insurance products directly to consumers. It currently employs more than 1,600 people. The company offers a simple but complete solution, allowing customers to communicate with an agent by phone, online, or face-to face through its network of branches. belairdirect was the first property and casualty insurer in the world to sell car insurance products online (www.belairdirect.com), attesting to the company's innovative character. belairdirect is a subsidiary of Intact Financial Corporation, the largest provider of property and casualty insurance in Canada (TSX : IFC - www.intactfc.com).

SOURCE Belairdirect

Image with caption: "The Belair Insurance Company was established in 1955 by the Diamond Taxi Association of Montreal (CNW Group/Belairdirect)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20150309_C5049_PHOTO_EN_12920.jpg

Image with caption: "belairdirect logo (CNW Group/Belairdirect)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20150309_C5049_PHOTO_EN_12919.jpg

Media inquiries: Jessica Wilkes, Team Leader, Communications, belairdirect, 416-341-1464 x 45232 or 647-403-5048, [email protected]; Also contact us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/belairdirect) and Twitter (@belairdirect)!