While non-life aggregators are yet to get off the ground in New Zealand, a new site has launched in Australia under much fanfare.
New car insurance comparison website compareinsurance.com.au has launched in Australia today.
The new quoting engine is the first comparison to allow Australians to compare car insurance quotes alongside customer rated scores.
The site has teamed up with Auto & General to add four new car insurance brands to its panel of providers – Budget Direct, 1st for Women, 1Cover and Virgin Money.
AI Insurance is also on the panel and the website owners are actively looking for more car insurance companies to add to the list.
It has launched an animated ad campaign ‘Find insurance the smart way’ to showcase their site.
The website, which launched in December 2013, already boasts comparisons in travel, life, income, health, home, bike, landlord, pet and caravan insurance.
It claims to save customers both money and time as customers can compare multiple insurance premiums at once.
“We aim to not only save time and money for customers, but provide peace of mind that they are well informed to choose the right insurance policy,” said Natalie Ball, director compareinsurance.com.au.
Ken Bryan, head of insurance at virginmoney.com.au backed the aggregator's model: “Comparisons have proven to be a worthwhile channel for Virgin Money and we are delighted to be on board with Compareinsurance.com.au. We are confident that our great prices, excellent customer service and brand reputation will stand out against the competition.”
Ex-Vero CEO Roger Bell has teamed up with Pure SEO director Richard Conway to launch icompare.co.nz in New Zealand but so far has been met with a lack of cooperation from NZ insurers.
Bell is urging consumers to write to the media and their insurers in support of their campaign.
He says the insurers’ resistance to cooperate is ‘denying Kiwis the benefits enjoyed by consumers in many countries overseas’ to make convenient and accurate comparisons of insurers’ terms and conditions.
However, the industry has maintained its position stating it would lead to comparisons being made solely on price and could leave many underinsured.
