Gocompare: One Third of UK Drivers Auto-Renewed their Motor Insurance Policy

By Jyothi Shanbhag
TMCnet Contributor

Gocompare.com, one of the most comprehensive insurance comparison services in the U.K., committed to finding the right product at the best price, and dedicated itself to saving time and money for users. The firm recently conducted a set of research and found that 8.7 million (31 percent) of U.K. drivers permitted their car insurer to automatically extend their policy for another year.

After the thorough study, the company found that almost half (48 percent) the U.K. drivers were driven to act by the need to save money, and 35 percent just didn’t trust their insurer to give them the best deal year after year.

The research indicates that three million (10 percent) drivers have been with the same insurer for 10 years or more, and 11.6 million (41 percent) stayed with the same insurer for three years or longer.

Scott Kelly, head of motor services at Gocompare.com, commented, “Drivers who allow their car insurance policies to auto-renew and expect to get the best deal are kidding themselves. Renewal documents often start by explaining that you don’t need to do anything for your cover to continue. Unfortunately, they don’t explain that doing nothing is the worst thing to do if you want to be sure you’re getting the most competitive premium and still have the cover you need.”

Apart from these percentages, 86 percent of drivers still agree insurers give better deals to new customers than those renewing.

In addition, Gocompare.com also found that just over half of these drivers act intelligently and use a comparison site to check their renewal premium against those offered by other car insurers, whereas 15 percent rely on telephonic survey with insurers. Others visit their websites.

Just 3 percent approach an insurance broker to arrange their cover for them.

“Auto-renewing your policy almost certainly benefits your insurer far more than it does you, and although it may seem more convenient to file and forget your renewal documents, spending a few minutes comparing premiums and cover levels from numerous providers could save you hundreds of pounds a year,” Kelly added.

Gocompare.com was launched in November 2006, and claims that it is one of the first comparison sites to focus on displaying product features rather than just listing prices. The company even allows users to compare and buy a wide variety of other products and services, including financial, travel and business products – plus utilities and other household services.