Car Insurance, How To Guides & Info

Mystery shopping by the research services company reveals that UK insurers offer the best experience of buying car insurance online compared with other European countries.

Its report, published early last month and released exclusively to Insurance Times, also considers security and trust, cross-selling and customer service. The UK was up against Germany, Italy and the Netherlands.

The UK insurance market took the top five spots for best online car insurance platforms. Aviva and RSA scored the highest with 4.5 out of 5, followed by RBS Insurance with 4.33, Allianz with 4.16 and Zurich with 4.

The rankings were calculated using a scale that ranged from 1 (very bad) to 5 (very good). The research did not compare the types of insurance offered.

Buying Car Insurance Online? See this Free Important check list

• Ensure the site offers both quick quotes and full quotes
• Allow users to extract the data from a quick quote if they decide to move to a full quote
• Enable users to save quotes and easily retrieve them when they return
• Present multiple coverage types side by side for comparison
• Allow users to get a quote for any cover with the click of a button
• Send a confirmation email with a reference number and a link to return to the quote
• Clearly present the portals available to consumers, brokers and others
• Outline the quoting process (for example, list the number of steps)
• Provide a progress bar
• Make it clear when consumers can buy online and when they need to contact an agent
• If an agent is needed, allay any concerns by explaining why.

Are you Wasting Money on your mortgage payment protection Insurance?

Families across the country could be wasting close to £500m every year by paying over the odds to their lenders on mortgage payment protection insurance. Although cover is available from some companies for as little as £400 per year, homeowners taking out protection from their lender could be spending around £689 for the same level of cover, essentially wasting around £289 per year. Spread across every home taking its insurance from its lender, this equates to a £471m bill for Britons every year, simply because they are failing to shop around for the best mortgage payment protection insurance.

British Car Insurance Buyer fickle and will shop around for the best Car Insurance Quote

UK consumers are "fickle" when it comes to buying motor insurance, according to  business consultancy EMB.

In a poll of 1,018 consumers, the firm found that 61% always seek a different quote on renewal, regardless of the price quoted by their existing insurer. This rises to 87% depending on the level of any price increase - surprising, considering that more than 80% of respondents say they are treated fairly by their current insurer.

The survey, analysing consumer attitudes to buying motor insurance, and particularly the role of price comparison sites, shows 78% of people are likely or very likely to visit aggregators for motor cover. Survey participants had visited two sites on average in the past year.

Consumers name Churchill, Direct Line, Norwich Union and the AA as the four most recognised motor insurance brands and brand strength is still an important factor in choice of insurer.