Amazon considering launch of UK insurance price comparison website

Amazon is understood to have approached a number of European insurance companies about contributing products for a UK price comparison website.

Amazon's loyal customer base and cutting-edge technology would help it compete with existing players such as comparethemarket.com, confused.com and GoCompare.com, and would fit with Amazon's strategy of offering multiple products as opposed to relying on a partnership with one organisation.

It is not known which insurers Amazon approached but it is thought that the potential expansion of sales might be appealing to some, while others may be put off by the potential reduction in premiums as competition forces prices down. 

In Europe, Amazon offers a product called Amazon Protect, which offers extensions to manufacturer warranties.

Morningstar analyst RJ Hottovy said: “As Amazon becomes a larger part of the home, whether it’s products delivered to the home, security monitoring, home services like Wi-Fi installation, you can make the case that insurance is the next logical step for this company,” 

Shares in Moneysupermarket, GoCompare and Admiral (owner of Confused.com) dropped by up to 4.6% on Thursday after the news broke.

Admiral's Chief Financial Officer, Geraint Jones, told Reuters:

“If it establishes a comparison site then I suspect Admiral will be interested in being a member, potentially. Price comparison is the main source of distribution of our products and we’ll await with interest what they do,”. 

 Source : Insight DIY

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