Motor and home insurance remain the most frequently purchased products on PCWs. In 2021, purchasing activity for these two products increased by 4.2 percentage points (pp) and 3.8pp respectively to reach 35.2% and 28.6%. But PCWs face a challenge in maintaining these high purchase frequencies as new Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) pricing rules have limited providers’ ability to aggressively compete on price to win new business. Falling premium prices across many of the lines discussed in this report led to a reduced proportion of consumers using PCWs to conduct pre-purchase research in 2021. However, when consumers did use PCWs to conduct research, they were more likely to make a purchase through a site compared to 2020.
Scope
- PCWs are the third-largest distribution channel for non-life insurance, with 29.2% of respondents from The publisher's 2021 UK Insurance Consumer Survey indicating they purchased a policy through this channel.
- PCWs rely heavily on returning customers, which is one of the reasons why sites offer so many products. 62.2% of respondents indicated they chose their respective site because they had used it before.
- The disparity between quotes for home and motor policies has greatly diminished in 2022, as the new FCA dual pricing rules are affecting providers’ ability to undercut themselves and rivals to win new business.
Reasons to Buy
- Discover consumer purchasing trends through price comparison websites (PCWs) in 2021
- Determine the market shares of the four leading PCWs in various general and life insurance lines
- See the early effects of new insurance market regulations on PCWs
- Ascertain pricing differences between PCWs across a variety of life and non-life products
- Adapt your distribution strategy to ensure that it meets customer purchasing needs and behaviors
Table of Contents
1. Executive Summary
1.1 Market overview
1.2 Key findings
1.3 Critical success factors
2. The Aggregator Market
2.1 Aggregators are more frequently used to purchase non-life insurance products
2.2 Offering many products is key to winning return business
2.3 PCWs were used less frequently for research across all four non-life products in 2021
2.4 Falling prices contributed to increased conversion rates for some products
2.5 PCWs maintain a good level of churn and competition
2.6 FCA pricing rules and soaring energy bills will impact PCWs’ growth in 2022
3. Aggregators by Line of Business
3.1 Non-life insurance products on PCWs
3.2 Life insurance products on PCWs
4. Competitor Profiles and Market Shares
4.1 Compare the Market was by far the most used PCW for non-life products in 2021
4.2 There is a more equitable spread of business for PCWs in the life insurance segment
4.3 Competitor profiles
5. Marketing
5.1 GoCompare was the leading advertising spender in 2021
5.2 TV advertising accounts for most of PCWs’ overall spend
6. Appendix
6.1 Abbreviations and acronyms
6.2 Definitions
6.3 Methodology
6.4 Secondary sources
6.5 Further reading
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List of Tables
Table 1: Breakdown of total advertising spend by the four leading PCWs (GBP000s), 2021
List of Figures
Figure 1: PCWs are more commonly used for non-life insurance than life insurance
Figure 2: Returning customers are key for PCWs
Figure 3: PCWs were used less frequently for research into non-life products in 2021
Figure 4: Conversion rates increased for six out of the seven products in 2021
Figure 5: Over 30% of all motor insurance customers switched provider in 2021
Figure 6: Over half of customer switches in the home and motor lines came through PCWs in 2021
Figure 7: Flow and LV= offer the cheapest motor insurance quotes across all four PCWs
Figure 8: The average motor quotes have increased but are less variable between PCWs
Figure 9: Home insurance policies provide varying levels of cover for similar prices
Figure 10: Home insurance quotes have become similar across the four sites
Figure 11: Differences in travel insurance cover are not mirrored in prices
Figure 12: PCWs are effectively highlighting the provision of COVID-19 cover
Figure 13: Quotes for pet insurance are the most variable of non-life products
Figure 14: Quotes for income protection vary by price, premium, claims duration, and application process
Figure 15: Term assurance quotes are comparatively similar across all six sites researched
Figure 16: Zurich offers the cheapest quote on all three sites at three different prices
Figure 17: There is very little difference between GoCompare and Choozi
Figure 18: Compare the Market is the most frequently used PCW for non-life products
Figure 19: Consumers’ choice of PCW is more evenly split for life insurance products
Figure 20: GoCompare spent the most on advertising in 2021
Figure 21: TV accounts for over three quarters of total advertising spend for three PCWs
Companies Mentioned (Partial List)
A selection of companies mentioned in this report includes, but is not limited to:
- MoneySuperMarket
- Confused.com
- GoCompare
- Compare the Market
- BGL Group
- Admiral Group
- Competition and Markets Authority
- Financial Conduct Authority
- Flow
- LV=
- Marshmallow
- More Than
- Darwin
- Saga
- Elephant
- Diamond
