But straitjacketed by existing business structures, the traditional insurance companies are, for the most part, leaving online subscription to emerging players such as French discount insurers Assurdiscount and the Dutch outfit Ineas, which also operates in Germany, Belgium and France. The traditional companies agree that there is a promising potential market just waiting out there, but are unsure of exactly how to tap into it. Taking the plunge AGF, the French subsidiary of the German giant Allianz, is one of the first traditional insurers to have taken the plunge in France, although it is adamant that its new online offshoot, OK Assurance, will not cannibalise its existing network. In Germany, this model is being tested by Mannheimer via its new online subsidiary Mamax and, in the UK, Admiral has founded a web-based offshoot called Elephant. Admiral was set up in 1993 as a direct motor insurer, and has some 500,000 customers.
Similar experiments are under way in other European countries, including the Netherlands.