Insurance firm to create 185 Cardiff jobs

An insurance firm says it hopes to create 185 jobs over three years when it begins operating from its Cardiff base this week.

Pure Options is to focus on income protection insurance from its head office in St Mellons.

The firm, which has taken on 39 staff so far, is backed by the assembly government's Single Investment Fund.

Economy Minister Ieuan Wyn Jones said the investment would provide a boost to the financial services sector in Wales.

He said: "It is particularly good news to hear the company has already taken on a significant number of staff and plans to create many more well-paid and highly-skilled jobs in the future.

"Pure Options has identified a large but poorly-served market and will be in a prime position to exploit this market opportunity in one of our priority sectors."

Pure Options said there were an estimated 24m people in the UK without income protection insurance in the UK, despite one-in-six being at risk of long-term incapacity due to illness or injury.