Confused women drivers? Me too.

I am not surprised that comparison websites are struggling in today’s economy. Apparently there are some 130 me-too websites, like Confused.com and Moneysupermarket.com, all competing to earn commission from services including insurance (motor, home and travel) and finance deals.

Just think about it. Car insurance comparison websites depend on commissions from insurers to pay to market their service (think big TV ads at peak viewing hours…) and the insurers are now haggling over how much they’ll pay for their listings –  such is their buying power in this competitive arena.

But it’s a strategic mess in my opinion and no good can come from the constant and relentless consumer drive towards cheaper and cheaper service.  Buy motor and we’ll discount household; buy this year and we won’t charge more next year; buy buildings and we’ll give you free contents – my head is dizzy and I’m still suspicious.

Moneysupermarket.com now needs to pare its costs to stay competitive and ahead of the rest… Then the rest tighten their belts and they’re all off again – it isn’t a sustainable model without a significant differentiator.

It used to be the case that a woman driver checking out a couple of comparison websites would get a great deal to reward her being the better gender risk.  This is no longer the case as a recent Which? report revealed. Just one example quoted was of a specifically named policy which could be bought for £204 via one search website but only £170 from another (presumably to do with the commission ingredient?). Bad luck foxy lady driver if you chose the wrong comparison site.

Then, with the emphasis on finding the cheapest policy out there, many consumers are risking travelling without holiday insurance or driving without motor insurance cover. More than ever I imagine in today’s economy.  If there was a proper deterrent there wouldn’t be so many getting away with it (10% admitted to driving uninsured at some stage in one survey I read) and the rest of us wouldn’t find ourselves out of pocket when we meet one of these idiots head on.

I find the insurance industry very confusing. Insurers get away with making preposterous claims stating ‘x percentage  of motorists will save more than c£100 by transferring to us’ when this can’t possibly be true of them all.

And those of us that buy cheap, cheap, cheap then find out what we bought when we need it most, when we come to claim. Inconsiderate customer service, policy terms that change (but the motorist can’t see what they are without re-reading the policy), inflexible garage options, poor pay outs and excesses that mean the customer underwrites the lionshare of the claim, not the insurer (who has had the premium up front).

Yes, insurance is a form of gambling whether you are a motorist or an insurer but to see who can win the most business and spend the least on it is undoubtedly what is  happening today with so many insurers in the red.

Why doesn’t the industry measure the quality of the services provided and make this information available? Ask Which? or FOXY to do it for them.  Not just the policy wording but customer satisfaction levels at all stages of their dealings.

And why don’t insurers work harder to keep their customers in the first place? The foxy ones should surely reward their customers to stay with them, before the renewal notice arrives, rather than having to spend more money attracting new business to replace the customers they allowed to jump ship…

I am sure there is a better way to deliver better customer value for money, even in a recession.

FOXY