Comparison sites. Love them or hate them, many buyers searching for insurance will head over to the site with the least annoying mascot to find some sort of deal on their insurance. But are consumers actually receiving a fair deal?
A recent investigation by Channel 4 consumer show Supershoppers found that many of the main comparison websites were charging &300 more for a car insurance policy than their competitors.
Why is this happening?
Comparison sites will often give off the impression that they are independent. However, what isn’t common knowledge is that some comparison sites are not as impartial as they may appear, with many of them actually being owned by competing insurance providers. For example, confused.com is actually owned by insurance giant Admiral.
The research that the programme provided found that when comparing a price for an annual car insurance policy from Admiral on confused.com and competing comparison site MoneySuperMarket, there was a difference of &300.
So what does that mean?
Comparison sites are often seen as the modern insurance broker, however, they don’t work on the same impartial basis as a high street broker. Each insurer has a different deal with each comparison site, meaning the average buyer will need to verify their quote by visiting multiple sources to see if they’re getting a good deal, or punished for not buying from their preferred source.
Comparison sites also differ on the type of information they require for a quote and will often not dig deep enough into the buyer's situation to ensure they get the right policy for the best price.
West Craven is not owned by any insurance group. We are an independent insurance broker, and take great pride in finding the right insurance policy at a fair price. If you are tired of trawling through countless comparison sites, let us do the legwork on your behalf. Get in touch on 01282 817 277