Comparing car insurance comparison Sites

Confirming earlier reports that Google has been plotting a move to help sell consumers auto insurance in the U.S., the search giant announced this morning it’s launching a new feature called “Google Compare for Auto Insurance, ” a comparison-shopping site that lets you compare the rates from different insurance providers. The option to compare rates will begin popping up after a consumer does a Google search for “car insurance” using Google’s search engine. Initially, the service is being made available to California residents, but Google says other states will soon follow later this year.

Consumers who enter in this search query will see a small, gray questionnaire appear, asking for their zip code, and other information about their vehicle. If they choose to fill that out, Google will return a comparison unit listing insurance premiums, provided by its insurance advertiser partners. Alternately, users can also go to to kick off the same experience and get quotes.

Google’s insurance partners, which include Mercury Insurance and MetLife, as well as local providers, is based on a flexible cost-per-acquisition (CPA) model, Google notes, adding that payment isn’t a factor in ranking or eligibility. The insurance providers can also use the service to highlight what makes them unique, as the Compare product has a field where they can mention their differentiating features – like safe driver discounts, or “A”-rated customer service, for example.

Today, Google already provides auto and travel insurance quotes, as well as mortgage quotes in the U.K., and it operates a credit card comparison site in the U.S., all of which fall under the “Google Compare” branding. However, recent job postings have hinted at Google looking to bring a similar mortgage comparison service to the U.S., and Forrester also said earlier this year that it expected Google would roll out a car insurance comparison service in Q1, beginning with California.

The auto comparison U.K. site has been live since 2012, but the U.S. launch has continually been pushed back. However, as of this January, Google Compare Auto Insurance Services, Inc. was licensed to do business in more than half of U.S. states, Forrester noted. The firm also found that Google was working with San Francisco-based car insurance comparison startup CoverHound, and speculated they had been acquired – a guess that CoverHound shot down soon after.