The Money Stop

The British Insurance Brokers’ Association (BIBA) has called for an investigation into price comparison sites by the Financial Services Authority (FSA), saying the body’s regulations were not written with these websites in mind.

Findings from the research revealed that over half of insurance buyers do not understand the difference between each insurance policy offered by comparison websites.

A further 84 per cent admitted to being confused by insurance policy details offered while only six per cent believed the details offered were true.

Eric Galbraith, BIBA chief executive, said: “The current FSA rules were written prior to the growth in aggregator sites.”

“I believe the regulator should now look again at developing more appropriate regulations, to ensure that consumers are being afforded suitable protections,” he added.

The research also found that many comparison websites base their calculations on assumptions meaning some consumers could purchase insurance policies which are not suitable for them.

However, Hayley Parsons, managing director of insurance comparison website Gocompare.com, said a review would be unnecessary as brokers and agents are already regulated by the FSA.

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