Cognisance's first job will be to analyse and streamline Esure's data capture strategy, buying in new data against a new set of criteria. Esure currently buys in 8m customer records a year.
Gabrielle Fitzgerald, direct marketing manager at Esure, said: "The direct insurance market is increasingly competitive. We need to improve the insight we have of our existing marketing database as well as grow our prospect base."
The consultancy will also be looking to build more detailed profiles of customers on its database to increase upselling and cross-selling opportunities.
John Regan, managing director of Cognisance, said: "Seeking to grow a customer base isn't a matter of simply buying in data. Today, you need to make sure that the people you are targeting are the right people with the right profile.
"Through in-depth analysis we're able to better understand the type of people most appropriate to a company and to use our relationships with data providers to secure the best deal on data purchase."
Esure, which provides home and motor insurance to UK residents, launched in 2000 by Direct Line founder Peter Wood with 拢150m backing from Halifax and Bank of Scotland.
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