Buying online turns Brits into car insurance experts
It's official. British drivers feel much better informed about their car insurance now they buy it online and just 14 per cent say they buy a policy on price alone.
According to new research commissioned by Gocompare.com, the vast majority of UK drivers take more information into account than just the car insurance premium and 42 per cent say that they know more about the features and excesses of their policies now they buy it online than when they used to telephone insurers for quotes or go to local brokers.
Less than 1 in 10 (8.5 per cent) of the 2030 drivers who took part in the survey said they knew more about their policy when they used to arrange it over the phone and just 1 in 20 (5.5 per cent) felt better informed when they bought it through a broker. 11 per cent of respondents have only ever bought their car insurance online.
These results will come as a surprise to those who suggest that consumers only look at the price when comparing insurance online rather than considering the cover the different policies provide.
However, despite over half (52 per cent) of UK consumers feeling that financial companies do not reward loyalty, less than 1 in 4 (23 per cent) regularly compare their financial products to ensure they are getting the best deal and 6 per cent NEVER check them once they've set them up. Ignorance may be bliss, but it may also be expensive.
Gocompare also warns that more drivers should take better notice of their car insurance renewal document for increases in premiums and reductions in cover. The study found that only 1 in 3 drivers (32 per cent) check their renewal documents carefully for changes and 38 per cent assume that if they simply renew their existing insurance they will have the same cover they had last time. But this often isn't the case.
22 per cent of drivers have noticed that their excesses seem to be increasing and 22 per cent have noticed that cover they expected to be standard has become an optional extra.
Lee Griffin, of Gocompare.com commented, "It's so important that drivers make an informed choice about the cover they need rather than simply choosing on price so it's great to see that UK consumers now feel much more knowledgeable about the car insurance they buy. This research shows that drivers feel they now have a much greater understanding and awareness of cover levels and excesses than when they used to buy it over the phone or through a local broker and that can only be a good thing.
"But drivers who don't routinely shop around at their renewal and don't read their renewal notices carefully, could be missing out on considerable savings and may be unaware of their excesses increasing or their cover shrinking. Gocompare customers save on average £320 by shopping around for their car insurance and important information such as excesses, standard cover and optional extras are all displayed clearly when they run a comparison. Only 36 per cent of consumers switched their car insurer in the last 12 months which means that potentially millions of pounds of savings are being paid to insurers instead of staying in driver's pockets."