Insurance-MISSING LINK-Quotations

HARTLAND_3

If you wish to purchase a car or electronic items it is possible today to get a spread sheet type analysis of every aspect of every model there is to choose from.

Is this type of analysis available in any form for Insurance?

Martin’s Insurance article is very helpful, and I note his comment that “a rash of variables affect car insurance prices”.

I accept that such an analysis could be quite long, but do feel that if such information was initiated from Martin and the expertise on this site it would blow the mystery of the Insurance Industry right out of the water.

At last we would know exactly what we were getting for our money right down to the small print. We could also rate each company on their customer service and claims efficiency.

It could also be helpful to know who owns each company and who has their call centres in this country.

Do you agree? What changes would you like to see?

Astaroth

It isnt so much that it would be difficult to do but that it would almost need to be the complete policy book for every policy out there of which there are thousands. I didnt however realise that there was any "mystery" of the insurance market.

I did see a customer feedback site once for insurance companies (or at least the top 50 or so) so will see if I can find the URL

dunstonh

It would be a nightmare. Different companies may offer their products through different sales channels. So you may have a policy from an insurer that differs with each sales channel. Not only on price but on areas of cover as well.

You also have variations that happen from time to time based on commencement. For example Tesco's insurance is different to what it was a year ago. Which version do you put on the database? Some providers change frequently and leave people on the old versions whilst placing new business on the current version.

Insurance (and financial services) has no mystery and the information is there if you are willing to look.

If you want to do it yourself, you are in effect accepting that you are doing the research for yourself. If you dont feel confident doing it yourself, there are people out there who can do if for you and accept the liability for giving that advice.

HARTLAND_3

Thanks to both Astaroth and Dunstonh for your replies and comments.

Clarification.

Missing Link in my book means that even when you think you’ve got the best quote you still do not know what that product is, or how it compares with all the others you received regardless of price.
I cannot think of another major product that we all need, that you pay for up front and do not know entirely what you’ve purchased, or agreed to, till you receive the policy booklet (even if you can cancel it within X number of days if it does not meet your needs). This adds up to a mystery for me.

Dunstonh informs me that the information is there if I’m willing to look. Perhaps you could enlighten us all as to where to look.
It was precisely because I feel that there is no comprehensive clear information available that I posted my comments in the first place.

After Astaroth reported that there are thousands of policies.
May be its time to have, say six, Industry Standard Policies to choose from for each major category. At least we could then move from one company to another and know that the policy is the same. It may also help cut legal costs in cases of disagreement. This would not stop Companies from offering other alternatives if they felt it was necessary.

Astaroth

But that is trying to create a one size fits all... and we all know that this isnt the case.

All direct insurers allow you to view their policybook on their website as a PDF. Brokers can also provide you with copies of policybooks but as they buy from a panel of insurers they tend not to have the policybooks for all the insurers they deal with online but can provide them on request. Plus, as you say, there is also the 14 day cooling off period.

I guess the question is do you also only want 6 plasma screens on offer so that we can all know exactly what we are getting than the "fun" of trying to weight up the panasonic against the pioneer etc...

dunstonh

Dunstonh informs me that the information is there if I’m willing to look. Perhaps you could enlighten us all as to where to look.
It was precisely because I feel that there is no comprehensive clear information available that I posted my comments in the first place.

Policy documents, key feature documents, product brochures and terms and conditions. These will give you all the information you need to compare products.

As an IFA, I pay (rather a lot) for research software which databases all that information making it easy for IFAs to research. I very much doubt that the research supplies would want to make the information available for free whilst they are charging hundreds of pounds a month to around 30,000 individuals.

Time and energy to research comes with DIY.