Insurance Companies - Uphill struggle!

[KellyB]

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Hi

I have just launched (soft launch - official public launch 1st Nov 08) www.EquineCompare.co.uk which is to my knowledge the first shopping comparison site dedicated to the equestrian market. We currently offer users a comparison service for equestrian products and Equine insurance.

Currently we have two equine insurance companies on the site who have joined on a cost per sale basis. I am trying to get more insurance companies involved.

The feedback I am getting from the insurers is that they don't want to be compared by price against their competitors. I therefore removed the horse insurance prices temporarily. I then got feedback that they couldn't compete with the other companies on the site.

Is there anybody out there from an insurance background that can take a look at my site and give me some advice please? We are offering these companies a chance to get in front of equestrian buyers - their target market. We are also being very flexible with cost terms, offering either a low PPC rate or payment on sale. Any feedback would be much appreciated.

[JMJ]

My instinct is that this sector of the market isn't very price sensitive, and possibly not very competitive. So the main players involved may have an unwritten, unspoken understanding that they will keep the prices high - this might explain their reluctance to be involved in a price comparison site?

I doubt the mainstream insurance companies were happy about the concept of price comparison sites until competition forced them into it.

Perhaps get rid of prices and replace with some kind of feature comparison? Maybe in this market service and benefits is more important than cost?

[tumalty1980]

Hi there, I have no experiance in Equine insurance but i suppose insurance is insurance. I operate a comparison site for Business & Liability Insurance. One major proplem I come accross was insurance companies saying they didnt want to be compared on price alone.

If you look at how GoCompare lay out their comparison table it gives the prices to compare as well as a star rating indicating what features the insurer offers. I don't know how this would work with Equine but cars for example an insurer who offers free courtesy cars, monthly payments, legal expenses and so on receive stars for each of the additional features they offer.

So if it was possible to allow visitors to compare the entire insurance package available and not just price I am sure you will find them more willing to get on board.

[KellyB]

Thank you for your valuable responses :tup

I have started to re create the insurance comparison page on the site, removing the prices for horse insurance and simply showing the logo, profile, customer benefits & offers, products and a star rating based on 4 criteria:

• Value for money
• Customer Service
• Product Range / Offering

The table will show an overall rating for the company but it will allow the customer to look at how the company was rated for each criteria. I just hope that the Insurance companies don't object to the star rating now! If a customer gives a bad rating for the company this could upset them and force them to pull out. Its a bit of a balancing act with comparison sites, you need to offer a good and independent comparison for the consumer but at the same time keep the companies happy!

[JMJ]

I reckon that will do the trick - hope it works out!