Today sees the introduction of the latest financial comparison website to hit the UK. Tesco have launched tescocompare.com which will initially offer a car insurance comparison service before moving into other areas.
Facing fierce competition, in an already crowded market, that includes household names such as confused.com and moneysupermarket.com; Tesco, according to managing director Peter Dingle, aim to make an impact by focusing on accurate quotes and policy details:
“We have placed great emphasis on the fact that our site not only compares price but also looks at individual policy features to allow users to make sure they are getting the right policy for them. There will be no extra costs or charges when it comes to paying your insurance, the price quoted will be the same as if the customer went direct."
It is the last part “the price quoted will be the same as if the customer went direct” that is bound to stir up intrigue within the industry. One criticism of some motor insurance comparison services is that the quotes they find sometimes differ from what is offered upon application. This is because of assumptions the aggregator sites have to make and is something they continually strive to improve.
So how does tescocompare.com aim to deliver on this promise?
The tescocompare.com site has been launched in partnership with the Royal Bank of Scotland. The comparison service offered by this paring covers 25 insurance brands. They includes Churchill and Privilege; owned by RBS and Virgin Money, Lloyds TSB and Nationwide; underwritten by RBS.
By having this close control over the insurers on its panel their hope is they can provide greater accuracy. After the teething problems experienced by tescocompare.com on its debut it is hard to pass judgement on the quality of its service.
One notable absentee from the panel of compared insurers is Direct Line, one of RBS’ largest brands, who recently launched scathing attacks on the price comparison arena and appear to be sticking to their guns.
So will Tesco triumph in yet another industry? Only time will tell, they certainly have the brand power and the marketing budget but will limiting their panel to the RBS stable prove a wise move? Or will it restrict their ability to offer the cheapest car insurance quotes compared to sites such as confused who compare 95% of the market?
You decide…
