Recently the blog received a comment from FrankPR who handle promotional campaigns for price comparison website comparethemarket.com. They were interested to know what I thought of the car insurance comparison service offered by their client.
Comparethemarket.com has been around for a couple of years now providing price comparison for a range of insurance products. The site recently underwent a facelift in preparation for a massive TV campaign to advertise their car insurance channel.
Always willing to please I made a visit to comparethemarket.com to test out their car insurance finder. Here’s what I thought…
First impressions...
…the first impression of the site is a very positive one, the layout is extremely user-friendly, taking care not to overload you with too much information, navigating to the car insurance comparison tool is simple enough even for the most novice user.
So, what about the comparison service itself...
The question set you have to fill in may well be interpreted by some as being ‘too long’. In truth I would prefer to call in thorough; the site says you can compare quotes in 4 minutes and that seems about right from the searches I performed.
One thing to remember when using price comparison websites is the more questions you answer the more accurate your quotes will be. If you want to use a service where the questions can be answered in seconds be ready to receive inaccurate questions based on many assumptions.
The comparethemarket.com question set strikes a good balance between the two. The questions are ones you would expect and there’s nothing you won’t be able to answer in your lunch hour.
On to the results...
Again the layout is easy on the eye and simple to understand. The quotes are understandably ordered by price with other primary information such as provider name and monthly cost also clearly visible. Clicking on the ‘more info’ link under each quote provides further policy details to help you make an informed decision.
Finishing your application...
The comparethemarket.com site has a promise ‘the price you see is the price you pay’. For a price comparison site this is a massive promise and one that can be very difficult to deliver.
Upon proceeding with my first application, which was a very straight forward process, the price was indeed the same as quoted, which was highly impressive given the number of accuracy complaints associated with the price comparison industry. Admittedly a few other quotes did deviate by a few pounds but overall the accuracy was commendable.
What else impressed...
A particular favourite of mine was an option on the results page to amend and recalculate your quote. You could change your cover type, excess and add/remove legal protection, breakdown cover and NCB protection and generate new quotes without having to take a backwards step. This is a great timesaver that I’m sure is well received by many customers.
The retrieve a quote option is also incredibly handy. If you don’t have time to complete your application, simply save it and return later on. One point on that, if you’ve already obtained a price you like make sure you return before the quote expiry date passes.
Areas for improvement...
When compared to the long established aggregators the number of quotes returned can be a little thin on the ground for more specialised insurance requirements. If they continue to grow I’ll be looking for comparethemarket.com to include as many providers and quotes as possible to persist in improving the service they provide.
Introducing some free guides and tips to help customers better understand their car insurance policy and the money saving options open to them would be a useful addition to the newsletter option currently offered. I would also like to see a forum introduced to increase customer interaction. As the car insurance comparison industry becomes evermore competitive customer retention will be vital to long-lasting success.
My overall opinion...
Comparethemarket.com is a welcome addition to the car insurance comparison arena. A well presented, easy to use site combined with accurate results makes for a very satisfying experience for the customer.
The site offers excellent possibilities for finding a cheaper motor insurance policy and has the potential to break the stranglehold enjoyed by the established aggregators.
Should you use it...
I would certainly add comparethemarket.com to your list of price comparison sites when searching for cheap car insurance quotes. The site is easy to use, offers a thorough comparison (for those prepared to answer the questions) and most importantly works to provide accuracy in its search results.
From my experience most people prefer one comparison service over another depending on what they’re looking for as well as their level of expectation. The next time your comparing car insurance quotes give comparethemarket.com a try and see how they stack up to any others you may have used in the past.
To learn more about comparethemarket.com visit their site.
If anyone has used comparethemarket.com to search for car insurance please share your opinions with us, good or bad, in the comments.
