Independent aggregator, Go Compare, announced the inclusion of five new home insurance providers on its panel. The aggregator entered the home insurance market in September 2007 and has since quadrupled its coverage. Aggregators have not been as prominent in this market as in private motor insurance, but such rapid expansion suggests they will soon have sufficient share to affect the market.

Go Compare added Churchill, Privilege, Prudential, Tesco and Virgin to its home insurance comparison panel on August 19, 2008, representing a significant expansion of its coverage. The addition of these five brands expands the panel by eight products in total, as both Privilege and Tesco maintain multiple household insurance offerings. Since its entry into the home cover market late in 2007, the comparison site has more than quadrupled its coverage of the market, becoming one of the most comprehensive aggregators for this product area.

GoCompare.com uses a five star rating system to compare policies, which distinguishes its offering from competitors. Quotes shown on the site are ranked on the basis of price, but customers are also asked what features they would like their policy to include. Based on these requirements, the comparison service provides the quotes with a star rating, with five stars representing a policy that meets all the customer’s requirements. This provides the customer with another basis for comparison, beyond price alone.

Aggregators have become an increasingly important route to market for general insurance providers in the UK, although the home insurance market has lagged behind other products. According to Defaqto research, only 68% of standard products in the home insurance market are available via price comparison sites.

Go Compare’s latest increase in product coverage, coupled with the company’s GBP 9.6 million spend on advertising in 2007, is likely to increase its market share in this area. Such an approach is also likely to increase the overall role that aggregators play in the home insurance market, with many of the same results already seen in other markets. Datamonitor expects that as with motor insurance, where insurers have complained that aggregators are holding down necessary price increases, the home insurance market can also expect increased price-based competition as a result of greater aggregator use.

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