When it comes to buying your Insurance these days you are spoilt for choice and there are certain questions that you should be asking yourself before settling down and making a decision on what avenue is best for you and we have tried to answer some of the main queries that people often have in the article below.
What is the difference between a Broker and a Price Comparison Website?
A Price Comparison Website will have a set list of questions that you have to answer and once it has received an answer to the relevant questions it will then check a number of Insurers and come back with multiple quotes from various Insurance Companies that will pay the people running the website a portion of commission for being on the site meaning that your price could be higher simply because you are effectively having to pay multiple people with your premium.
A Broker differs greatly as you can speak to a Broker direct and you will get a personal touch with them and they will not be reading a list of questions that they hope will be enough for everyone but will treat you as an individual and tailor make a policy for you. Also as you are dealing with a Professional Broker they will know the markets that they deal with and should be approaching multiple companies on your behalf to get you the most competitive deal available.
Can you check the Policy Cover on a Price Comparison Website?
The one thing with Price Comparison Websites is that there have been multiple complaints regarding certain levels of cover not being included on policies that are sold via the Price Comparison Websites and it being hard to see the full level of cover and following a full investigation from the FCA into these websites found the 5 main problems as follows:
– The Levels of Cover and the Excesses of the Policy were not clear enough.
– The Exclusions and any Limitations on the Policy were not clear enough.
– The Fees that were charged for Cancellations and Adjustments were not displayed.
– They did not have a clear Demands and Needs Statement.
– The Personal Data that was put in was being used by the companies and others for Marketing Purposes and didn’t make it clear how to opt out.
What are the benefits of using a Broker?
If a Broker is undertaking their job correctly then after you have requested a quotation and given over all the information that the Broker will ask you then they will go away check the markets and get the Insurance Policy that is right for you. They should then (before any purchase is made) send you the full details of the Insurance Policy that they are recommending to you which includes a full policy wording and a breakdown of any charges and fees applicable. This means that you will be in a position where you can check all 5 of the things that were hard to find or not shown on a Price Comparison Website.
Price Comparison Website Conclusion
Price Comparison Websites are not unusable by any means and you can obtain some good Quotes and Insurance Policies from them if you remember to check the following:
– Check more than one Price Comparison Website as no one Website can get you a quote from every Insurance Company so checking more will get you more quotations.
– Always check what boxes on the Websites are pre-filled as these are assuming your answer and you should be happy with each answer given.
– Cheapest does not mean best, check all the quotes given for things such as Excesses and Fees charged as just because it is the cheapest policy to buy it does not mean it will be the cheapest all round.
– If you are looking for a complex Insurance Policy then these sites are not for you as they only offer Standard Products meaning anything that isn’t Standard does not fit in to these sites and you will not be able to ask for any advice if you are unsure.
– Can get Quotes and buy Insurance Policies at all times of Day or Night and therefore may be more convenient than dealing with a Broker
Insurance Brokers Conclusion
Insurance Brokers do have some drawbacks such as generally only being open 9am to 5pm meaning that if you are trying to do your Insurance outside of normal hours then you may run in to trouble but there are multiple reasons why I would always use a Broker instead of going via a Price Comparison Website and they are as follows:
– Easier to find out the in-depth features of any Insurance Policy that you may be quoted for or have in force.
– There will be a Human Being available to speak to who can answer all of your Questions and Queries.
– A Full Quotation will be sent which will detail the information it is based upon, the cover it provides and the Fees and Charges Applicable.
– Policy will be tailored to suit your needs rather than a Standard Product that is provided by the Comparison Websites.
