Supermarket giant Coles is introducing car insurance into its product mix with a direct offering underwritten by the general insurance arm of Wesfarmers.

The retailer – which started trials of house and car insurance in its Tasmanian stores 12 months ago – will be offering comprehensive, third-party fire and theft and third-party insurance through a branded Coles website and a dedicated call centre.

A Wesfarmers spokesman confirmed its broker network would not be involved in selling the new insurance.

Despite many years ago testing a dedicated financial services area in a Vermont supermarket in Victoria, the spokesman says there will be no in-store presence for the new insurance products.

This will be different to the UK model, where retailers such as Tesco and Sainsbury’s have maintained a section of the store for selling their “home-brand” insurance products.

A spokesman told insuranceNEWS.com.au Coles will advertise the product through its mail-drop catalogues as well as some mainstream media.

The retailer is aiming for the mid-range of the car insurance market, hoping to attract family drivers.

Coles will be offering the traditional car insurance options and benefits such as guaranteed repairs, windscreen damage and hire car cover. But it has also added grocery replacement for comprehensive insurance customers.

The fuel discount scheme run by Coles will also apply to the car insurance product, with customers receiving 12 cents off their fuel purchases once a month for the duration of the policy.

It will also offer an extra 5% discount for buying a policy online.