Apson Review Blog

Archive for the ‘Finance’ Category

Websites engaged in the comparison of insurance is said to be the most modern concept in the insurance business. Many insurance companies are trying to provide this service to their customer as it is considered to be the easiest as well as the convenient way of trade. The basis of this system is that customers can do all the insurance related stuff without sacrificing the comfort of their home.

According to the Financial Services Authority (FSA) though, some of the websites that promise to offer the best prices on the web provide information that is either out-of-date or in some cases simply inaccurate. The FSA was keen to point out however that some other sites in this growing industry were fair, clear and accurate.

Insurance comparison websites are a modern phenomenon, there are adverts all over the place for one website or another and they are some of the more successful recent additions to the Internet. They trade on the promise that they will do the legwork for you, finding the cheapest insurance policies out there.

A further problem for the comparison sites is the fact recently they have not been able to get information on all the policies available. Adverts are beginning to appear from some of the biggest names in insurance stating that the policies that they are offering are not available through comparison websites, only by contacting them directly.

According to the FSA important things such as compulsory excess levels were sometimes excluded from the price, or simply incorrect. Whilst in other cases warnings were issued to customers to consider other factors than simply the price, but little other information was given, and others only listed some of the features of any given policy, though the price was always included. Perhaps most importantly, quotes on certain sites actually differed from the amount charge by the broker or insurer.

The number of price comparison websites has rocketed in the last few years, covering most of the products in the financial sector. They have been incredibly successful and lucrative, one of the individuals who set up one of the first companies is now worth in the region of half a billion pounds.

The overwhelming evidence is that price comparison sites may not actually offer the best deal. Presumably the inaccuracies that have been reported will be corrected, but aside from this many sites receive a commission from the companies that they recommend, which may boost the price making it cheaper to go direct to the insurer.

Price comparison sites effectively do the legwork that is always recommended when it comes to buying insurance, or a mortgage, getting a loan, or a new bank account. The theory being that if they compare all the offers for you, you will ultimately end up with the best deal, unfortunately this is not altogether true as these companies have to make a profit somewhere in the transaction and that profit is only going to come from you.

In the wake of the report by the FSA, Internet comparison sites will be required to provide their customers with more information than they have previously done so. Ultimately, though, there is no comparison for knowing what you are looking for yourself, take a bit of time and research the basic terms used in connection to insurance, and take a look around to make sure you are aware of all the options available.

For home insurance quotes try the Co-Op.

For more information please visit us at http://www.co-operativeinsurance.co.uk/servlet/Satellite/1203668836269,CFSweb/Page/Insurance-Home