How are Brokers Different to Insurance Comparison Sites
Comparison sites offer a service which most consumers will have a use for at some point in their lives; if you own a car or a house, the chances are you have used one and even if you haven’t ever had insurance you’ll probably still be familiar with a certain Slavic meerkat.
Brokers don’t serve as many customers as comparison sites, the misconception many people have that brokers are only for the wealthy is a part of that, but the truth is that we work with clients from all walks of life and we perform a very similar service to comparison sites.
So how are brokers different from comparison sites?
One key way we are different from comparison sites is the level of service we provide. A good protection consultant will go through your needs and circumstances with you and do a lot of work in the background to ensure that the cover they offer you is the most suitable policy for your needs.
Conversely, many consumers who have bought insurance through a comparison site find that the cover they have does not cover what they thought it did and are left out-of-pocket because comparison sites offer “blanket cover”, which doesn’t necessarily cover what they thought it did and wasn’t the right policy for them at all.
Following on from this, comparison sites will sometimes offer you a policy at an unbelievably low premium, this can be for a variety of reasons but it is often the case that the policy is stripped of any benefits or because the involuntary excess is extremely high. If you don’t check if that is the case before purchasing the policy, you might find yourself stuck with a policy that doesn’t meet your needs.
Any insurance broker worth their salt may still present these options to you, as some clients will prefer a low premium over the extra coverage and benefits, but won’t recommend a policy like this unless it is the best one for your needs.
Another way we differ is that, sometimes, comparison sites will allow providers to pay to appear higher in their quote results than others, much like adverts on Google.
Brokers will make every effort to understand your needs to provide a recommendation of what provider and policy we think is best for you; we will provide you with all the information on every provider who will give us a competitive quote (similar price and levels of cover etc) and make sure you understand the significance of the policy you choose. There are no dealings behind closed doors and no secrets.
There is also the issue of credit scores.
Comparison sites will often conduct unnecessary credit checks on its users, even conducting several at once, which can affect your credit score and directly impact you financially. Meanwhile, brokers will not usually check your credit unless it is necessary and will only do so if circumstances require it.
One of the main reasons you may want to consider a broker is if you have any kind of special requirement. Comparison sites aren’t great at dealing with anything that isn’t standard and they won’t offer you the cover you need if you want to cover something outside of the norm, such as:
A listed building
High-value contents, including art, antiques, and jewellery
Modified, classic or supercars
High-value life policies
Because of insurance brokers more bespoke service, we are more likely to spot if you need any specialist insurance or a higher value policy to cover your needs and can often provide it at a more flexible price than comparison sites will offer.
The final key difference we want to highlight is the level of service provided.
Once a consumer buys a policy through a comparison site, that’s likely to be the end of their interaction. A good broker, on the other hand, will provide service and support to their clients throughout application, purchase and claiming, they will speak to loss adjusters, claims departments and whomever else they need to in order to reduce the hassle and work for their client and keep their premiums as low as reasonably possible.
If you’d like to speak to one of our expert protection consultants about your insurance, you can book a free insurance review by calling us on 01495 366200, emailing us at info@kingfinancialservices.co.uk or via Facebook Messenger