Price Comparison or Direct Broker?

The recent advertising campaign by Direct Line, effectively denouncing the use of price comparison websites, has lit the fuse for a rather amusing slanging match between insurance brokers and aggregator websites.

The question that needs answering it seems is which is the better option; getting quotes direct from brokers or using a price comparison site?

While it’s true that comparison sites do not include all car insurance providers on their quoting systems there is no denying they do allow you to get an at-a-glance idea of how much you could save extremely quickly. Contacting that many insurance companies individually would take an age.

It’s also true that aggregator websites such as confused.com and moneysupermarket.com have to make some assumptions when calculating car insurance quotes. Every motor insurance company asks different questions after all. These assumptions can affect the accuracy of the quotes found in online comparison.

Going direct to a broker allows you to get a very accurate price. However, it is only one quote and it might not be competitive.

Comparison websites may still have some improving to do so; they openly admit this themselves. But they are still a valuable tool in helping people save both time and money. Some insurance companies it seems simply do not like comparison sites creating market transparency, forcing companies to offer better deals in order to attract customers.

In this blogger’s opinion comparison sites get the thumbs up because they champion the cause of the average person.