A YORK-based legal insurance supplier is gearing up for growth as it marks 30 years in business off the back of two successive record years that have seen its gross written premium income break through the £3.2 million barrier.

General Legal Protection, based in King Street was founded in 1986, and specialises in supplying legal expenses insurance and assistance products via personal lines and commercial insurance brokers to motorists, homeowners, boat owners, landlords, tenants as well as commercial organisations.

Between its 2011/12 and 2012/13 financial years, the company saw its gross written premiums (GWP) grow by more than 20 per cent to £2.1 million, which coincided with an increase in pre-tax profits of more than 40 per cent taking it to £242,000.

The firm’s 2013/14 figures are expected to show equally impressive increases, according to managing director André Scruton, who says a recruitment drive will so be underway to meet the demands of the company's growth.

He said: "Our ethos has always been about offering a superb level of customer support and an exceptional range of innovative products that meet the demands of an ever-evolving marketplace that can be tailored to meet the individual requirements of insurance brokers throughout the UK.

"Right now this is definitely proving to be a successful formula and we’re in a good position with positive cash flow, a strong balance sheet and we’re keen to explore a variety of growth opportunities.

"This year we will be recruiting new members to the team in line with our continued growth, announcing several high profile contract wins as well as investing in a new cloud based software system from a specialist provider.

"The new system will allow all of our data to be digitalized, so it will instantly be updated and reduces the risk of human error. The move will improve efficiency and make cost savings. The system will also allow us to meet all compliancy requirements for solvency as well as enabling us to deliver the phenomenal levels of data required when processing claims."f

Currently employing a team of eight at its offices in York city centre, General Legal Protection has recently enjoyed a string of new contract wins with several leading brokers including Bluefin, Higos Insurance Services and GoSkippy.