Qantas plans to expand into home and contents insurance next year in partnership with Auto & General after last week entering the motor market with policies underwritten by the insurer.

The airline is leveraging the appeal of its frequent flyer rewards program to tap into wider financial services revenue streams. Qantas already offers travel insurance, underwritten by Lloyd’s, life policies from TAL and health cover issued by Nib.

Auto & General, which has been operating in Australia since 2000, says it is growing strongly and the Qantas partnership allows it to team with a trusted company and iconic brand.

The insurer also underwrites policies for other businesses that have expanded into general insurance, including Australia Post, Virgin Money and ING, while its own brands include Budget Direct.

“Auto & General is the fastest growing major motor and home insurer in Australia for the last two years, and we expect our partnership with Qantas to further accelerate our growth,” Group MD and CEO Asia Pacific Ram Kangatharan told insuranceNEWS.com.au.

The firm is part of the Budget insurance group, which has expanded internationally after starting in South Africa.

Qantas is offering its 13 million frequent flyers up to 20,000 loyalty scheme points when they sign up to car insurance, as well as one point for every dollar spent on their premium and up to 6000 points for completing safety tasks such as brake and tyre checks and servicing.

CEO Alan Joyce says the company is offering competitive financial and insurance products that have the added benefit of earning points for customers.

“We’ve seen that work well with health insurance and credit cards. We expect Qantas Car Insurance to be popular for the same reason,” he said.

The car insurance offering includes comprehensive, third party property, fire and theft, and third party property.