There has been significant growth in both the number of general insurance comparison websites, and the number of consumers using these sites, in the last few years. This is particularly true for general insurance products, such as motor and home insurance. Indeed, recent figures
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suggest that almost 25% of all private motor insurance sold in 2007 was "aggregator-instigated". In addition to this, the research also suggests that these sites generated approximately 30 million private motor quotes in the same period.
We previously considered the growth of these sites in 2006 and 2007 and concluded that no immediate action, other than to follow the development of the market, was required. However, in light of a number of factors, including the continued strong growth of the market, the addition of a number of new entrants into the market, and the BIBA (British Insurance Brokers' Association) research suggesting there are significant issues within the market, we have recently carried out a further review of the market. This review took a snapshot of the current market, to determine whether these sites are behaving in a way which treats customers fairly, and in particular, whether the information provided to consumers is clear, fair and not misleading.
The purpose of this communication is to present the findings of our review, and to provide clarification of our expectations of this industry.
We followed the "customer journey" on 17 insurance comparison websites, from the provision of personal information and the receipt of quotes, through to purchasing the insurance from the broker or insurer's website. The purpose of this was to test a number of elements in the chain of purchasing insurance, and to gain a clear understanding of the types of information that consumers are provided with at various stages of the purchase.
In particular, we focused on whether:
- The websites we reviewed have appropriate authorisation to undertake the activities they are performing; and
- Whether the information provided to consumers was clear, fair and not misleading, including whether the information was accurate when compared to the information available on the brokers' and insurers' websites.
