Insurancewide.com: Tesco Compare launch

James Harrison, CEO of Insurancewide.com, said today: “The addition of Tesco Compare to the already well established array of insurance comparison websites is yet another sign that the insurance buying public is approaching the end of an era.

In the eighties Direct Line transformed the insurance industry almost overnight when it took the decision to sell its insurance products direct to the public and so avoid paying commission to insurance brokers. The introduction of the first internet search engine by Insurancewide.com in 1999 set out to help customers by comparing not only the prices offered by traditional insurers but also, by that time, the numerous direct brands all claiming to be the cheapest”.

Gone are the days when customers went straight to direct insurers as their first port of call - they've seen through the advertising hype and realised that direct insurers no longer necessarily offer the cheapest option or the best value. The internet is now clearly established as the first port of call for the insurance buying public and aggregator sites have become the obvious place to search for a relevant policy that provides good value.

But customers should be cautious because not all comparison websites are entirely independent, nor do they all search the whole market. Customers should be aware that Tesco Compare is backed by the RBS group of insurers that now includes the original Direct Line; Confused.com is owned by Admiral; Gocompare.com is backed by E-Sure and Comparethemarket.com is owned by the Budget Group. It is already widely known that Tesco Compare will only be offering its customers access to 25% of the UK insurance market.

The other concern for customers is that while most insurance comparison websites are certainly the best place to start a search, most of them still only cater for the 'typical' driver, not drivers with unusual circumstances or complex driving histories. Insurancewide.com, which powers the AOL, MSN, Yahoo! and Tiscali aggregator sites is still the only service that also offers access to niche and specialist insurers that can cater for the most challenging as well as the most straightforward insurance requests and offer specific policies that actually match individual driver needs."