UK-based general insurer LV= is planning to recruit 50 new staff for its Bristol office in the first quarter of 2012.

The insurer is planning to recruit more later in 2012.

The majority of the new roles available are within the sales and customer services teams and involve handling calls from customers about car insurance.

The company, which already employs over 500 people in Bristol, currently employs 5000 staff across over 20 offices.

LV= HR director David Smith said that while other financial companies in the Bristol area are freezing recruitment and making cut-backs, they are expanding so this not only means that there is the opportunity to join them but also lots of great career prospects.

The company offers services direct to consumers, as well as through IFAs and brokers, and through strategic partnerships with organizations such as ASDA, Nationwide Building Society and a range of trades unions.