Switch and go: insurance switching up dramatically

Car and home insurance customers have dumped over 9.2 million uncompetitive policies in the past six months as the insurance market sees a sharp increase in switching, according to MoneyExpert.com.

The independent financial comparison website says some 1.6 million more car and home insurance products have been switched compared to last quarter.

The Q3 results of MoneyExpert.com’s authoritative Switching Index show that 15 per cent of adults have swapped motor insurance provider and 10 per cent have changed their home insurance policy in the six months to October. That equates to 6.88 million and 2.39 million policies changing hands respectively.

The new figures from MoneyExpert.com reveal that in total around half the population ditched some 37.5 million products and services in favour of better deals in the past six months, or over 205,000 swaps every day.

And with insurance switching up dramatically, MoneyExpert.com says consumers are finally becoming savvy to unfair deals and demanding more competitive pricing from providers.

Sean Gardner, Chief Executive of MoneyExpert.com, said: “Insurance has been incredibly competitive for a long time now. Just turn on your television and you’ll see scores of advertisements all claiming to get you the best deal.

“And with online price comparison becoming mainstream for millions of people, it’s even more likely that people will be happy to chop and change providers in search of the best deal.”

The MoneyExpert.com Switching Index also shows that electricity bill switching is up by 2 percentage points in the past six months. 15 per cent of UK adults claim to have swapped provider over that period – around 3.59 million households.

Sean Gardner added: “Last quarter the effects of higher interest rates and a less than flourishing financial marketplace led to a widespread reduction in switching. We were all battening down the hatches.

“But three months on and it seems consumers are regaining confidence and are switching again – everyone will want to save themselves some cash before the tough festive period begins.

“The good news is there are plenty of excellent offers out there and many product sectors are incredibly competitive – insurance being a prime example. It will almost certainly be the case that everyone can save money by switching and we would urge consumers to continue to seek out the best deals.”