GoCompare comments on FCA’s proposals to improve transparency by forcing insurers to publish data on product value

Lee Griffin, founder member of GoCompare commented: 

“The FCA’s proposals will mean that in the future most insurance products will be measured on their value, using a set of factors including claim acceptance rates and the number of claim-related complaints.  Under these proposals insurers must publish the data and then use it to consider whether their products offer value to their customers.  The overall aim being to increase competition on product value.

“As the first comparison site to focus on displaying policy details rather than just listing prices, and the first to incorporate independent product ratings and customer reviews, we welcome this move by the FCA.  While product and price information are more readily available and transparent than ever before, the claims side of the ‘value equation’ has remained in the dark for most policyholders. 

“People should know if a product is potentially less likely to pay out on a claim or if there has been a higher than normal level of complaints about claims.  They want to make an informed choice but right now they just have to trust that their insurer will be there for them when the worst happens. Key to this is the availability of data – if it was available now, we’d already be showing our customers the claims pay-out and experience information.

“We have to look at this in conjunction with other initiatives running at the moment – for example, the CMA’s work on loyalty penalties, which result in millions of existing customers paying more than new ones for the same product.  Together, these two initiatives have the potential to transform the insurance landscape and significantly improve value for money for customers.”

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For further information please contact:

Anders Nilsson or Louisa Marsden at GoCompare on 01633 654 054 / 01633 655 132

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

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

Notes to editors

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