Comparethemarket's Insurance feedback

hybernia

We've been with our present car insurer for two years. Our renewal notice for 2017-2018 has just arrived, quoting £272.48p, a year-on-year increase of £36.

I've been to Comparethe market to see if it does, indeed, compare the market . .. and do so properly. After filling in all the required details, including setting the exact same parameters as those which apply to our existing policy, Comparethemarket returned an on-screen table of no less than 72 quotes -- one of them from our existing insurer.

The quote, which I have in front of me, is for £348.21p. At the top of the quote is a banner emblazoned with the words: You won't get cheaper going direct.

By my math, this quote-which-is-cheaper-than-by-going-direct is a not inconsiderable £75.73p MORE than my existing insurer is quoting for renewal.

I'm left to conclude that either the meerkats have taken over control of its website or comparethemarket is a monumental waste of time. Whichever, it can deck itself out with as many gimmicks as it wishes -- be they fluffy toys or cinema tickets -- but it isn't ever going to be a comparison site I'll ever bother visiting again.

Note: I haven't registered on here to make a first-time post in regard to comparethemarket only to vanish entirely from sight again. . .

rudekid48

I think you've misunderstood how comparison sites work - they can only compare prices for 'new' policies with an insurer; not what an insurer is willing to offer to an existing customer at renewal...

Don't understand why you're so put out - the time taken has shown you that your existing provider is offering the best deal for you (on price anyway).

hybernia

Er, no. I haven't "misunderstood" how comparison sites work. It may surprise you to know that I'm quite familiar with them.

I'm also familiar -- as, by astonishing coincidence, are the people who run MSE -- that it is standard practice amongst all insurers to offer the most attractive terms to potential new policy holders, rather than existing ones, it being the case that consumer inertia is factored in to projected policy duration pricing.

But from the informed nature of your post, you clearly already know that, in much the same way that I know that comparison sites don't specialise in aggregating existing customer deals.

My point was, and so remains, that CTM has -- not for the first time, according to this thread -- produced data which it says represents a better deal than that which a consumer would get from going direct.

Utter nonsense.

Someone has to pay for all those meerkats and cinema tickets; on the basis of my experience (and that of several others here) going direct is always to be recommended if it's a case of choosing between that and taking any notice of the data from CTM.

But thank you for your interest anyway.

rudekid48

Erm... ok.

Jon_B_London

So I've bought insurance through compare the market twice now, and not once managed to claim any of the rewards. I just renewed my home insurance, but I must be missing something as I'm dammed if I can find the 2-4-1 Cinema Tickets voucher code they promise on their website. Is it just me or am I missing something really obvious?

gdoug

I've had all sorts of issues with house and contents insurance whereby entered full details on the comparethemarket.com webpage regarding our two storey extension which is then not passed on to the insurer.
I clicked through on onecall insurance (who I will never again use) as they were competitive, entered all my details again on onecall insurance including my full credit card details thinking I was purchasing the cover - only to be told on screen that the details had now been passed on and my credit worthiness would require validating and that I wasn't insured until I received a schedule of insurance (the office was closed at this point).
This left me in limbo not having cover or knowing if I needed to keep looking around. Phoned onecall insurance the next day and after fourth person I spoke to got through to someone who could access my quote (despite giving ref number each time) but couldn't find my credit card details. I then asked to cancel the quote as getting alarmed at this stage, at which point I was advised this would cost me £49 cancellation fee that I had agreed to despite them seemingly not having my card details.
I eventually overcame it by establishing onecall hadn't received information keyed into comparethemarket webpage regarding extension being built and therefore couldn't provide cover, so didn't have to pay £49 cancellation.
Very poor experience of comparethemarket and onecall insurance, neither of which I will be using again.

Jiffy127

Having used a few sites to compare home insurance prices I found that the options offered at the final stage was excellent. E.g. replacement locks, accommodation if unable to occupy your home. etc. You can then update your quotes having made your selections

nheather

Anyone still waiting for Star Wars meerkats - I am and I'm not convinced Compare The Market are being honest with me.

So back in the summer I saw the star wars promotion and thought "I must have those two".

As chance may have it I was after a new credit card. I did consider going with one of the cashback sites and would have earned £45 with which I could have bought both meerkats from eBay.

But silly me, thinking that cashback is never guaranteed I went with what I thought was the fool proof solution. I took out the new credit card using Compare The Market and got confirmation that I could order a meerkat. I order 'Luke Skywalker' and shortly after got a confirmation email that he was ordered and would be with me soon.

Being confident that Compare The Market would honour their side of the bargain I bought Obi Wan meerkat from eBay.

A month ago I noticed that my meekat order was 'still processing' was overdue and there had been no contact from Compare The Market".

I also noticed that they were no longer doing Star Wars so I became a little concerned.

So I contacted Compare The Market using facebook messaging and got a nice enough response. Stating that there was a stock shortage and asking whether I wanted to choose another. I told them that I didn't and they assured me that more were being made and I would get the meerkat I ordered.

A month has passed and nothing has changed.

I wonder whether I am just being spun along - anyone else in this situation.

mjjordan

Gave up when the site kept telling me that the average for circumstance was £45000 contents when I only wanted £4000 - mother in law's 1 bed elderly flat and the site refused to go on from that point. Their poor programming - their lost business.....

kelbag_2

Very strange, I know insurance prices can go up and down but to have an increase of over £100 in quotes from the same insurer in the space of 3 hours completely baffled me.