Comparison Sites - And Why You Should Use Them

In the bad old days businesses had the edge over consumers. The price you were quoted was the price you paid. Few people had the time or inclination to get more than a couple of quotes come insurance renewal time etc, and for most plain old loyalty (or is that inertia?) ruled the day.

The Internet changed all that. Now it was possible to get all the quotes you wanted from the comfort of your armchair, in minutes rather than hours or days.

Price comparison sites were an inevitable development in the evolution of Internet business. Essentially these sites are simply computer programs that collect your details once and submit them to multiple sites to find you the best deal - be it on insurance, consumer goods, utilities and just about everything else.

Price comparison sites are great and I unreservedly recommend them Here’s a couple of tips:

It’s always worth trying two or three such sites as not every site polls every supplier, but between them the top few will cover the vast majority.

Don’t just accept the cheapest deal you’re offered, be sure to read the small print to find out that it really does meet your demands, for example the cheapest insurance may have too high an excess or too many exclusions.

Rather bizarrely English insurance company Direct Line has chosen to exclude itself from price comparison sites and recently launched an advertising campaign deriding them as “middlemen”. In a manner of speaking that’s true, albeit automated rather than human ones. But who really cares about using a middleman so long as they get the best possible deal. My guess is Direct Line will eventually have to change its policy. Watch this space.