A British price comparison service has become the first company to launch a car insurance price comparison app which is available to all iPhone and iPad owners.
MoneySupermarket.com has teamed up with renowned app experts MIG (Mobile Interactive Group) to produce the app which retrieves car insurance quotes from over 100 different providers in a matter of minutes.
The company says that it expects the app to prompt other comparison services to produce a similar service, with American insurers also likely to take an interest in the latest developments.
High prices prompt action
UK based AA reports that the average British motorist is now paying 40% more for insurance than what they were 12 months ago. These price rises are being blamed on the increased number of fraudulent claims which have been made in the country in recent times. It is believed that these have been prompted by the increase in no-win, no fee legal companies advertising their services on television and increased unemployment rates.
The Association of British Insurers (ABI) has therefore encouraged motorists to shop around when their renewal is due; comparing prices available through as many different insurers as possible before finalizing a deal in order to make sure that they are getting the cheapest quote available to them. The ABI estimates that the average motorist stands to save 35% by comparing deals available through at least 5 different insurance companies rather than simply accepting their renewal price.
MoneySupermarket.com is aiming to take advantage of this and hopes that its quick and easy to use app will remove the final hurdle which is believed to be holding people back from comparing; namely the time and effort that motorists most invest in order to compare quotes available through each insurer individually.
The App explained
The MoneySupermarket.com car insurance app is currently available for download from either the company website or on iTunes.
Once the app has been added to your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch, all you need to do is create a MoneySupermarket.com user account if you do not already have one. This will simply involve entering information about yourself, such as your age, gender and occupation; all of which will influence the quotes you are offered. The benefit of creating a MoneySupermarket.com account is that you will only have to enter your personal information once; making getting quotes in the future both quicker and easier.
Getting details about a specific vehicle is also easier than ever before, as you simply have to take a photograph of a vehicle registration plate and the app will automatically access the DVLA database of vehicle registrations; retrieving the information about the vehicle which will be required in order to calculate a car insurance quote.
Once this information has been collated, the app will automatically retrieve quotes on offer through over 100 car insurance companies; helping users find the cheapest deals available on the market place.
Purchasing car insurance has also been made simpler by the “click to call” button which is located alongside each quote; allowing users to phone up specific insurers to arrange for the policy to be put in place or simply to make enquiries about what is covered as part of the deal.
Start of a new era
MoneySupermarket insurance expert Julie Fisher stated she believes that the app will inspire other comparison services to launch similar apps for the iPhone and other smart phones, including android systems, in the near future.
American insurers will also likely be paying attention to the system, with individual insurers likely to launch their own systems. This will be done as an attempt to engender brand loyalty from motorists as they will not compare deals available through other insurance firms; removing one of the primary advantages of such systems. This is linked to the fact that the rise of car insurance comparison companies across the USA has been held back by the different laws that govern each state; a handicap which is not present in the UK.
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