AIB and Guardian PMPA have signed a deal to cross-sell house-hold insurance and car finance to their customers.

The deal is "not significant in terms of strategic alliance . . . it is more a business opportunity", Mr Chris Ducker, head of personal banking at AIB, said.

AIB already sells household insurance through a panel of insurers, but now this business will be done solely through Guardian PMPA. Mr Ducker explained: "We feel we don't sell as much as we could sell."

He noted that car finance was very important to AIB. While it was a "very competitive market", the deal gives AIB access to "potentially as high as 250,000" customers through Guardian PMPA.

Guardian PMPA will continue to sell its household insurance through its outlets and through insurance intermediaries. Premium income from household insurance increased from Pounds 11 million in 1995 to Pounds 13 million in 1996, representing 9 per cent of the market.

The company expects this to "increase very significantly" as a result of the deal, said Mr Aidan Cassell's, operations director, Guardian PMPA. The first new product is expected to be launched in the autumn. It is a "very important development for us", Mr Cassells said.