Van Insurance :
Other Stuff :
Van Insurance Comparison Sites/ Aggregators
Over the last few years comparison sites have sprung up all over the internet offering to save the van insurance customer time and effort in getting the cheapest insurance policy. But are they any good?
Good
Certainly comparison sites such as confused.com or moneysupermarket search a large number of van insurance companies and can compare lots of prices quickly and easily. They are easy to use and very visible with massive advertising campaigns.
Bad
The problem is that these sites are all about getting a rock bottom price which is not necessarily suitable cover for the customer.
The FSA (Financial Services Authority) have released two reports that condemn some comparison sites for quoting misleading information on the excesses on an insurance policy. They also slammed the sites for not making clear the assumptions that quotes are based on (such as the insured not having been made bankrupt in the last five years) and that not all of the customers requirements are included in the policy.
The quotes on each website aren't really an independent view of the market as each aggregator signs deals with particular insurance companies that are willing to pay it's fees.
Conclusion
We can all be grateful to comparison sites for driving down the cost of insurance BUT buyer beware if taking a policy out based purely on price. Cheap Van Insurance should be low cost but it certainly shouldn't come back to bite you later with an unexpected excess or the discovery that something isn't covered as expected.
The real test of any van insurance policy is when you make a claim and if that cheap policy doesn't provide what the customer thought it did there can be trouble.
Brokers and Intermediaries have access to many different insurers and policies and can offer advice on which is most suitable and offers the cover required at the most competitive price.
