Wesfarmers Insurance plans to introduce a private motor offering through its retail operations in coming months, according to Group MD Richard Goyder.

Speaking at the Steadfast Convention in Perth this morning, he said the Tasmanian stores’ trial of a direct householders’ product through its Coles subsidiary is continuing.

The Lumley insurance operation is undergoing substantial change in its strategic focus under a new management team, and Mr Goyder says it should be a more significant participant in the Australian and New Zealand markets. “We want Lumley to increasingly become an alternative to the ‘big three’,” he said.

He says the industry’s continuing challenge will be to “attract and retain really good people”.

“The interesting thing is that when we do attract people to insurance, they love it. We need to keep working to get really great people in insurance.”