Insurance Age

Insurance Age: "Picking a star performer
Online insurance aggregators now account for a quarter of web-based policy sales. Customers see them as a convenient and quick way to get cover, as Dan Coatsworth writes
The popularity of aggregators is reflected by the succession of new brands entering the market, with Yesinsurance.co.uk being the latest, a specialist in motor insurance for drivers with cars over five years old, low mileage drivers and second car owners. At first glance, Yesinsurance.co.uk appears to be a pure online comparison site, similar to Insuresupermarket.com or Confused.com. But underneath its outer shell is a broker operation powered by Budget and owned by Provident Insurance.
The consumer is unlikely to see brokers such as Yesinsurance.co.uk as any different to pure online comparison sites - be it insurance-specific or more general ones like Pricerunner.co.uk or Kelkoo.co.uk, both of which offer a range of items such as electrical goods and books. To the consumer, Yesinsurance.co.uk is simply another website that allows them to shop for their needs in one place, and have choice in what they buy. And it is this simplicity that should be a wake-up call to any brokers clinging on to the traditional high-street model and who believe internet operations are a threat to their business.
Pure online insurance comparison sites differ from brokers, as they claim to offer policies from nearly all the market providers, rather than from just a panel. The main players, Insuresupermarket.com and Confused.com, operate using a process called screen scraping. The customer types in their personal details and insurance needs, which the comparison site then sends off to a host of provider sites on the customer's behalf. It then displays the range of quotes back on its own website. Most comparison sites have a link so that the policy can also be bought d"