Voluntary guidelines to make purchasing home insurance online easier

Home owners looking to purchase home insurance online should now find the process greatly improved as both web-based insurance providers and price comparison sites have rushed to adopt new voluntary guidelines outlined by the Association of British Insurers (ABI).

As research has revealed that more British home owners are turning to price comparison websites in a bid to make their recession-hit finances stretch further, insurance experts at the ABI and the British Insurance Broker's Association (BIBA) had expressed their mounting concern that consumers purchasing seemingly low-cost premiums online, with very little guidance, could unwittingly pay more long-term after finding that their policy is not as comprehensive as they first thought.

Graeme Trudgill, a BIBA spokesman, encouraged property owners to compare home insurance premiums but warned using low cost price comparison sites failing to display hidden costs could prove costly in the long term.

"Some comparison sites," Trudgill said, "don't display the rate and instead advise the customer to check with the insurer."

As a result, the ABI issued voluntary guidelines to web-based home insurance providers and price comparison outlets, recommending detailed policy information and guidance be presented very clearly online, with the added price of insurance excess and optional extras, in particular, clearly outlined.

Nick Starling, director of general and health insurance at the ABI, said the new guidance had been welcomed by a large number of web-based insurers and comparison sites and had already helped "millions of customers ... [to] get the best policy for their needs before they click to buy."

Tue, 23 Nov 2010 05:37:00 GMT