Consumer Intelligence report on online motor insurance

James Harrison, head of Insurancewide.com, insurance comparison website, points out that: “Although today’s Consumer Intelligence report into the online behaviour of motor insurance customers shows a plateau in the use of insurance comparison websites, we do not believe the market will decline as online search, comparison and buying has become firmly embedded in the behaviour of most e-savvy consumers.

“Although it does not advertise on TV and is therefore by no means the most commonly visited comparison website, Insurancewide.com remains the most comprehensive site in terms of market coverage and in its ability to direct customers to specialist and niche insurers. What the Consumer intelligence survey doesn’t show is that Insurancewide.com powers the insurance channels for most major personal finance portals such as Yahoo, MSN, AOL and Tiscali and is therefore visited by significantly more customers than these figures suggest.

Insurancewide.com is currently developing new ways to make insurance search and comparison even more efficient and relevant for the customer. We have always maintained that comparison websites should direct customers to the most relevant policy for their needs, not simply the cheapest. No insurer can pay to appear at the top of our listings, which sadly, and despite widespread press exposure of this practice, is still a feature of several comparison websites. Worryingly, these same sites appear near the top of Consumer Intelligence’s latest survey.

Now that consumers are used to using the internet to sort their personal finances, it is crucial that they have access to fair, relevant and easily digestible information that will help them choose the right insurance policy without unpleasant surprises when they come to buy. If comparison websites do not provide this, customers will indeed vote with their mouse and the market will start to decline as Consumer Intelligence predicts.”