The story
Bennetts was founded by Frederick J Bennett in 1930 in Coventry. Trading as F.J. Bennett and Sons, they initially provided general insurance services for customers in the West Midlands. By the early 1980s, trading as G.F. Bennett and Co and managed by Frederick's son Gordon, the company focussed on providing motorcycle insurance. Additionally, The Times newspaper noted: "It also offers Travel Insurance provided by Aspen Syndicate which underwrites for Lloyds Insurance."
In 2000, Bennetts launched a quote and buy on-line facility. It was acquired by the BGL Group in 2001. In 2009, Bennetts was one of “more than a dozen” insurance companies criticised for only offering insurance to people with an existing motorcycle licence.
In 2011, the company launched a commercial portal dedicated to motorcycling, followed in 2012 by a social networking group, Bike Social.
On 28 January 2015, it was announced that Saga Group was to purchase Bennetts from BGL Group for a reported £26.26m, completed on 1 July 2015. On 1 December 2019, Bennetts stopped trading through Saga Services Limited, changing to Bennetts Motorcycling Services Limited, remaining part of the Saga group of companies. The Guardian newspaper described Saga's acquisition as: "Saga roars into middle-aged biker market with new acquisition." In a related article, the newspaper noted Saga had paid: "£26m to snap up the motorbike insurer Bennetts, which specialises in providing cover for trophy rides such as Harley Davidsons, Triumphs and Ducatis."
On 17 February 2020, it was announced that Atlanta Group (part of the Ardonagh Group) had agreed to purchase Bennetts from Saga for £26 million. However, it was subsequently reported that: "The sale of Bennetts motorcycle insurance to the Ardonagh Group has been reversed by the Competition and Markets Authority". Subsequently The Ardonagh Group were obliged to sell Benetts by the CMA and it was purchased for an undisclosed sum in May 2021 by Right Choice Holdings, which then evolved into Lucida Group incorporating Bennetts, Right Choice Insurance Brokers (RCIB) and Moorhouse.
In the autumn of 2022, the company began offering car insurance.
From Wikipedia’s article on Bennetts, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3