Bigpond Technologies

One of the most frequently cited reasons why motorists choose to simply accept the car insurance renewal offered to them by their present insurer is the time and effort which is required in order to seek out other offers. This is despite the fact that the ABI (Association of British Insurers) claims that the average motorist would shave 30% off the price of their premiums if they were to compare deals available through at least five different providers.

However, one UK based price comparison company has set about reversing this trend and making car insurance quotes more accessible to customers with their launch of the world’s first car insurance comparison app. Although only currently available to iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch owners within the UK; the app has the potential to be launched internationally and cover a variety of different types of insurance.

Download and compare

The car insurance comparison app is the brainchild of MoneySupermarket.com, and the app can now be downloaded from either iTunes or the MoneySupermarket website itself completely free of charge.

Once downloaded, users will be required to create a MoneySupermarket account which will contain information about the prospective policy holder which is required by insurers in order create a risk profile. The risk profile will then be used by the insurer in order create car insurance quotes; taking into account the statistical likelihood of claims being made.

This stage of the quote retrieval process is often cited as being the most time consuming. App developers MIG have taken this into account, and the creation of a MoneySupermarket account means that users need only enter this information on the first occasion on which they use the app making the retrieval of quotes on subsequent occasions much faster and easier.

MIG has also put thought into vehicle data entry which is another time consuming aspect of the process. Their solution is perhaps the most nifty feature of the app as users need only take a photograph of the registration plate of the vehicle that they are looking to insure themselves on. Required vehicle information will then be retrieved from the database held by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) in the UK. This not only reduces the amount of time it takes to complete this stage of the quote retrieval process, but also reduces the possibility of human errors when information is being entered.

Car Insurance deals which are available through over 100 different providers will then be presented to users, with two buttons located alongside each quote. One of these buttons is called ‘click to call’, and is designed to allow users to contact the insurer directly if they want to find out more information about the policy before committing to it. However, users who are absolutely sure that they have found the quote that they are looking for can simply click the ‘purchase’ button; enabling them to begin a policy in any place at any time.

Critical response

Reception has so far been generally positive, with the app winning the prestigious Consumer App of the Week award decided upon by The Guardian Newspaper. Critic Mark King praised the app for its general ease of use and “handy” nature.

With praise for its general use and predictions that the app could be set to revolutionise the car insurance buying process; it would be a shock if the company decided not to make the app available to android phone users in the near future. It is also likely that competitors in other countries will be keeping an eye on developments and may well decide to launch similar app for their own respective markets over the course of 2012.