On our first day - 2nd April 1985 - we became the first UK insurance company to use the telephone as its main channel of communication. It was a revolutionary event. Out went the middlemen, the fat commissions, the forms and the jargon. In came speed, simplicity and a common-sense human touch.

But the revolution didn't end there. Next came claims by phone, then the launch of home, travel and pet insurance, loans, mortgages and pensions and the list goes on.

In Direct Line's first three months, it gave 9,000 motor insurance quotes over the phone!

Our first office opened in 1985 in Croydon with just 63 staff, and this year we're celebrating our 20th birthday and now employ over 9,000 people, and have more than 4 million customers.