'Don't pay the loyalty tax' - GoCompare comments on the FCA's general insurance market study

Georgie Frost, consumer advocate at GoCompare commented:

“We welcome any investigation into this area because clearly something isn't right and people feel they are being ripped off.  Clearer rules and regulations will be better for everyone because we can't have a system where it is the most vulnerable that are the hardest hit. Equally, some people who can switch aren't doing so and we need to find out why and make sure they are fully engaged.

“It’s well-known that loyalty doesn't pay when it comes to insurance. Just a glance at the feedback we receive from our customers shows that you can save hundreds of pounds on a policy without compromising cover.

“The so called ‘tease and squeeze’ approach to pricing is the go-to tactic in many industries, including car and home insurance.  New customers are enticed with a competitive price and then, if they don't shop around and switch, they face often stealthy - sometimes blatant - premium increases in subsequent years.

“It’s imperative that people keep shopping around and switching to avoid getting ripped off, but more also needs to be done to make it clearer how customers can switch.

“People mustn’t sit back and wait for change to come, and we would encourage them to continue to shop around for the best value policies - those that provide the cover and conditions they need, at a fair price - and dump the insurers who are giving them a poor deal.”

Top tips from GoCompare to get the best car or home insurance deals:

• NEVER accept your renewal quote without first checking that the price you are offered is competitive – even if your insurer was the cheapest last year,
• Give yourself time to review your cover – note the renewal date in your diary and shop around at least a week before your policy renews to get the best deal,
• Compare prices AND check the small print. Make sure you’re making like-for-like comparisons and understand all the charges, any penalties, exclusions and terms and conditions you will be required to meet.

Customers switching and saving with GoCompare could save £268.69 on their car insurance and £77.30 on their home insurance.²

For more information on shopping around and switching insurance policies, visit: https://www.gocompare.com/insurance/

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For further information please contact:

Anders Nilsson or Martyn John at GoCompare on 01633 654 054 / 01633 654 725

Gordon, Jason or Liz at MAW Communications on 01603 505 845

Keep up-to-date with GoCompare on Twitter; @GoCompare

Notes to editors

1. Source: On 14 August 2018, Bilendi conducted an online survey among 2,006 randomly selected British adults who are Maximiles UK panellists and have car insurance. The margin of error-which measures sampling variability-is +/- 2.2%. The results have been statistically weighted according to the most current education, age, gender and regional data to ensure samples representative of the entire adult population of United Kingdom. Discrepancies in or between totals are due to rounding.
2. According to independent research from Consumer Intelligence in April 2018, 51% of customers could save up to £268.69 with GoCompare Car Insurance and £77.30 with GoCompare Home Insurance.

About GoCompare

GoCompare is a comparison website that enables people to compare the costs and features of a wide variety of insurance policies, financial products and energy tariffs.

GoCompare does not charge people to use its services, and it does not accept advertising or sponsored listings, so all product comparisons are unbiased. GoCompare makes its money through fees paid by the providers of products that appear on its various comparison services when a customer buys through the site.

GoCompare does not sell its customers’ data.

When it launched in 2006, it was the first comparison site to focus on displaying policy details rather than just listing prices, with the aim of helping people to make better-informed decisions when buying their insurance. GoCompare has remained dedicated to helping people choose the most appropriate products rather than just the cheapest, and has teamed up with Defaqto, the independent financial researcher, to integrate additional policy information into a number of its insurance comparison services. This allows people to compare up to an extra 30 features of cover.

GoCompare is the only comparison website to be invited to join the British Insurance Brokers’ Association (BIBA) and is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

For more information visit www.gocompare.com and www.gocomparegroup.com