Online Insurance comparison Sites

But agents may want to hold off on breaking out the champagne. Leading online insurance shopping sites say they are not deterred by Google’s missteps in the online insurance shopping space. In fact, they are just ramping up and have big plans to expand their reach through partnerships with companies outside of the insurance industry.

“Insurance is not the reason Google Compare shut down, ” said Keith Moore, CEO of online insurance compare, quote and buy site CoverHound.com, which was a partner of Google Compare that connected its users to CoverHound’s platform to purchase policies.

Moore said Google Compare’s issues had nothing to do with the industry or the CoverHound platform, which he says has been steadily growing since it first opened for business in 2010. CoverHound reported premium growth of 117 percent quarter to date year over year, and says it has already delivered 428, 000 customer quotes through 30 carriers on its platform in 2016.

Moore also said that CoverHound’s Net Promoter Score – used to measure customers’ level of engagement, satisfaction and loyalty to a brand – was up overall by 32 percent to 78 (out of 100) and it had a rating of 81 for Google Compare shoppers who went through the CoverHound platform.

“We are seeing very positive trends in online insurance shopping…All comparison shopping sites are seeing positive growth right now, ” he said. “[Google] will not directly impact the positive momentum in digital insurance shopping.”

“Comparison is the intersection of the internet and insurance, and you’ve got to know both sides to make them work, ” he said.

Let the Best Online Insurance Site Win

Moore predicts the insurance comparison shopping experience will continue to be refined and enhanced to offer more efficient multi-channel connections, such as through texting and e-mail.

“It is going to catch up with what other shopping categories have done in the last five years. The timeline has been a little different for insurance, ” Moore said.

Jeff Chesky, CEO of Insuritas, the agency behind Overstock.com’s online insurance sales, also expects online sales of insurance will continue to evolve because there is a need for insurance companies to find a new way to distribute their products. But he doesn’t think online comparison sites are the ones that can do it.

“Carriers are desperately seeking a new platform…but there has been no consumer call to action to support any lead generating model, ” he said, referring to insurance comparison shopping sites.

Insuritas’ business model works by setting up online insurance “agencies” through local banks and credit unions nationwide and providing a complete “quote to buy experience.” In 2014, it expanded to online retail with its Overstock.com partnership, which consumers have been slow to embrace. The platform has helped build an extended relationship with the Overstock constituency, 100 percent of which buy insurance, Chesky said.