Tesco Bank partners with AXA Assistance for home emergency

Tesco Bank has selected AXA Assistance to provide the claims service for its home emergency cover. This will be provided through AXA Assistance's network of independent contractors. 

AXA Assistance has secured the partnership following a tender exercise and has replaced Homeserve as the claims handler. Tesco Bank's home emergency cover continues to be underwritten by Inter Partner Assistance S.A. (IPA), which is itself part of the AXA Assistance Group. 

Home emergency cover is generally sold as an add-on to Tesco Bank's home insurance product, which is underwritten by a panel of insurers including Tesco Underwriting (Ageas), RSA, Towergate and AXA. 

Tesco Bank works with a panel of insurers for car insurance and partners with Ageas for travel insurance and RSA for pet insurance. 

Lloyds Banking Group discards household panel

Lloyds Bank General Insurance has become the sole underwriter of household insurance for the major brands within the Lloyds Banking Group - Halifax, Lloyds Bank and Bank of Scotland - and their three million policyholders. 

It is understood that the bank's insurer was already the dominant player in what is probably the UK's largest household insurance "affinity", but it does mark a significant potential loss of "partnerships' business" for major insurers including RSA, Allianz and Legal & General. 

The bank has portrayed the switch from a panel as a means of ensuring "consistency of quality and service" for customers.  

The three brands continue to partner with Junction (and its panel) for motor insurance. For travel insurance, Lloyds Bank works with AXA and Halifax partners with Cigna.