Price comparison sites & "cheap" insurance

BertTheRaccoon

Something I'm keen to debate and hear of people's experiences is whether you have regretted using a price comparison site or some other bargain basement insurer?

Be it for service generally, or finding that your real insurance requirements had not been catered for when it came to make a claim, such as being told that particular risk was not covered which you thought was or would be?

My belief is the lack of information taken to provide some quotes, be it motor or household, is so minimal that people's actual insurance requirements are not really considered, just a case of "give us your name & address". As opposed to the level of cover they would have if they had used say, an independent broker (not many of them left really), who would probably assess the actual level of cover required and at least explain things a little more and find out what the customer needs.

Given this place is all about saving money, do you go on price and to hell with how good the cover is? Or do you sway towards the level of cover being more important than the price?

mikey72

For house and car I don't use a broker.
They're expensive, and never add any value for me.
I don't use the cheapest insurer though, I use ones I recognise, then go through a cashback site.

For business and landlord insurance I do. I actaully use Swintons local branch.
Who are excellent, know what they're doing, and include any oddball requirements on the schedule they send me.

principlecounts

mikey72 wrote: »

For house and car I don't use a broker.
They're expensive, and never add any value for me.
I don't use the cheapest insurer though, I use ones I recognise, then go through a cashback site.

For business and landlord insurance I do. I actaully use Swintons local branch.
Who are excellent, know what they're doing, and include any oddball requirements on the schedule they send me.

You love Swinton?!? - few and far between!

Parking_Trouble

There is far too much focus on price. Consumers need to take more time to look at the T&C's of the policy and what they are actually covered for. Also, how good is the insurer at dealing with a claim, are there hidden charges, etc.

Focus on value for money, not price alone.

InsideInsurance

Thankfully never had a bad experience with either aggregators or any of the insurers/ brokers I've chosen but then even though I use aggregators I still buy on value rather than price and have never gone for the bargain basement option

BertTheRaccoon

InsideInsurance wrote: »

Thankfully never had a bad experience with either aggregators or any of the insurers/ brokers I've chosen but then even though I use aggregators I still buy on value rather than price and have never gone for the bargain basement option

Difference being that you know what you're on about with insurance.

I'm not slating anyone here, merely making a generalised observation and I have only been on this forum for a month or two, but the place is littered with people hooting about they bought their insurance from some online outfit, got a bargain basement quote, then got £60 quid back from Quidco and then used umpteen discount codes. They then get violated for admin fees for amendments or cancellation when they realise the cover is crap, or their claims get declined because the person was not actually covered for a particular item/scenario.

I suppose reverting back to my original post, what I'm saying is that buying on value/ the cheapest option is often a completely false economy.

In my view, there's no substitute for speaking with a proper broker who will send you away with the right cover for your needs, whilst trying to do the best for you on price.

hugoshavez

Lee_Jones wrote: »

Difference being that you know what you're on about with insurance.

I'm not slating anyone here, merely making a generalised observation and I have only been on this forum for a month or two, but the place is littered with people hooting about they bought their insurance from some online outfit, got a bargain basement quote, then got £60 quid back from Quidco and then used umpteen discount codes. They then get violated for admin fees for amendments or cancellation when they realise the cover is crap, or their claims get declined because the person was not actually covered for a particular item/scenario.

I suppose reverting back to my original post, what I'm saying is that buying on value/ the cheapest option is often a completely false economy.

In my view, there's no substitute for speaking with a proper broker who will send you away with the right cover for your needs, whilst trying to do the best for you on price.

Are you a broker?

I've seen plenty of instances where local brokers have arranged policies which were unsuitable, or misunderstood by policyholder and broker alike.

Buying direct is not difficult for home/motor insurance as long as you're below HNW status.

The mantra on this site for a long time was "read the policy". That's not even necessary these days as the FOS require any unusual or restrictive term to be highlighted very clearly.

dunstonh

Lee_Jones wrote: »

Difference being that you know what you're on about with insurance.

I'm not slating anyone here, merely making a generalised observation and I have only been on this forum for a month or two, but the place is littered with people hooting about they bought their insurance from some online outfit, got a bargain basement quote, then got £60 quid back from Quidco and then used umpteen discount codes. They then get violated for admin fees for amendments or cancellation when they realise the cover is crap, or their claims get declined because the person was not actually covered for a particular item/scenario.

I suppose reverting back to my original post, what I'm saying is that buying on value/ the cheapest option is often a completely false economy.

In my view, there's no substitute for speaking with a proper broker who will send you away with the right cover for your needs, whilst trying to do the best for you on price.

You do make a fair point in the respect that many people do seem to spend a lot of time looking for rebates, vouchers, cashbacks etc without actually spending any real time looking at what they are buying.

It doesnt mean they need a broker. It just means they need to change their priorities. Some may well need a broker but many just need to spend a bit more time on the important bit (what they are buying) rather than spending all the time in getting cashbacks etc.

BertTheRaccoon

hugoshavez wrote: »

Are you a broker?

The mantra on this site for a long time was "read the policy". That's not even necessary these days as the FOS require any unusual or restrictive term to be highlighted very clearly.

No I'm not in any financial services industry, although you would think I was a spokesperson for BIBA as I have noticed I have repeated myself on a few threads about what I perceive as a benefit of getting advice on products rather than who is the cheapest.

That's a fair point you make though.

dunstonh wrote: »

You do make a fair point in the respect that many people do seem to spend a lot of time looking for rebates, vouchers, cashbacks etc without actually spending any real time looking at what they are buying.

It doesnt mean they need a broker. It just means they need to change their priorities. Some may well need a broker but many just need to spend a bit more time on the important bit (what they are buying) rather than spending all the time in getting cashbacks etc.

Again, a very well put point.

I'll shut up now :rotfl:

scooby75

I can go the other way and say how glad I am to have used a comparison site to find Salaam Halal insurance - a policy based on Islamic principles. Not only was it the cheapest but the customer service was excellent and the cover was pretty good too.

Sadly, they went bust which is a real shame.

Back to the original question, I'm fed up of comparison sites offering prices without having the full information. One company for example offered a really good price but it was buried in the small print that it was a ten month policy. And getting 1000 nectar points (woo - a fiver) or £50 cashback is !!!!!! all on a premium of over £1500

dunstonh

Sadly, they went bust which is a real shame.

LOL. They were cheapest and went bust. That tells you a lot.

Back to the original question, I'm fed up of comparison sites offering prices without having the full information.

I totally agree. There have been many calls to get them to improve but the FSA rarely finds any reason against them. We see many times on here that people just focus on price and nothing else. Possibly as there is little else. Although saying that, there are plenty who ignore what is there.