Thousands Set to ‘Spring Clean’ Car Insurance Policies

• Thursday 1st May is ‘D Day’ for insurers
• Record number to switch providers

According to new data from price comparison website, thecomparisons.com, the yearly peak for car insurance renewals is almost upon us. With the credit crunch looming, more consumers than ever will be looking to switch providers, meaning D-Day for insurers.

Using its data resource of more than eight million people across the UK¹, thecomparisons.com has found that Thursday 1st May will be this year’s peak for driver’s insurance policies coming to an end and up to 270,000 people² - more than ever before - will be affected.

Crucially, according to industry figures, drivers will spend the final three weeks of April researching the best deals available. thecomparisons.com is predicting that with the credit crunch looming, savvy consumers will spend more time than ever searching online for the best price and are also more likely than ever to switch car insurance providers in favour of a better deal.

In response, thecomparisons.com is preparing for record traffic on its website from bargain-hunting consumers.

Chris McDonald, Director of thecomparisons.com, said: “Traditionally, the peak for car insurance renewals is thought to be earlier in the year. However, this data certainly challenges that.”

“The rise of price comparison websites, which allow consumers to compare prices from hundreds of different providers in seconds, mean that the market has never been more competitive.”

“Many ‘direct’ insurers are having trouble retaining customers, and some insurers are refusing to be listed on price comparison sites. This means that there has never been more of a bargain to be had and there are potentially hundreds of pounds to be saved if you take a few moments to visit a price comparison site like thecomparisons.com.”

The least common month for renewals:
November

The most common months for renewals:
December, June, April

¹Based on a representative sample of data on car insurance renewals from data pool company, The Trading Floor Limited, strategic partner of thecomparisons.com.
² Based on MINTEL figures of 27 million car insurance policy holders in the UK.

The Cost of Love This Valentines Day? It’s £9.99

New Research Reveals We’re a Nation of Tightwads

New findings from price comparison website, thecomparisons.com, have revealed the true cost of love and it’s nowhere near as high as you’d think! A staggering 55% of people said they are planning to spend less than £10 on their partners, or even buy no present at all, this Valentine’s Day.

thecomparisons.com questioned 1,005 people across the UK in January 2008 to help it understand consumer behaviour when it comes to spending money on gifts and presents.

The findings paint Brits as a nation of romantic tightwads; just 2% said they’d spend more than £100 on a Valentine’s gift for their partner this February 14th, while only three of the 1,005 people questioned said they’d spend more than £500. A third (35%) of people said they’d spend between £10 and £50.

Surprisingly, women emerged as the tightest gender and were 20% more likely than men to spend less than £10, or buy no gift at all for their other half. Blokes, on the other hand, were twice as likely as women to spend between £50 and £100 on a romantic gift.

The South East emerged as the tightest region, being more likely (60%) than anywhere else in the UK to spend less than £10 or buy no present at all for their partners. Close behind was Scotland with 58% and the South West with 55%. At the other end of the scale was the Republic of Ireland, where a quarter of people planned to spend between £50 and £100 on their partners – the highest out of any region.

Young people also emerged as more romantic than older age groups; three quarters (75%) of those in the 55-64 age group were planning to spend less than £10, or nothing at all on their partners, compared with only 41% of 18-24 year olds.

Chris McDonald, Director of thecomparisons.com, said: “As the research shows, at £9.99, the price of love is not very high! People are either planning to shop around and get a great bargain this Valentine’s Day, or are actively shunning it. Of course, if you are after the best deal, and want your money to work hardest for you, then a price comparison website is a great place to start.”

• 1,005 people were surveyed in this study across the UK. Your Say Pays is a research panel operated by The Leadership Factor, the UK’s leading source of (customer) satisfaction data. For further details www.leadershipfactor.com or tel 01484 467004 for further details
  

Expansion Set for the Comparisons

Successful launch drives new appointments

Following strong business growth, thecomparisons.com, the new Leeds-based price comparison website which launched at the end of last year, has recruited two new team members.

The new additions will be Dianne Hough, who joins as Business Development Manager, and Simon-John Roberts, who has been appointed as Web Development Manager. Both are set to play a key role in the ambitious growth plans of the business over the next year.

Dianne Hough previously worked with Yorkshire digital agency, Leap Frog. In her new role as Business Development Manager, she will be responsible for building relationships with the company’s extensive panel of partners and will work to implement and develop new and existing services and products for the website.

Dianne said: “I am looking forward to the challenges of working with such an ambitious and focused team. It is an exciting time to joining the business, which has already made its mark in the industry, despite its relative infancy.”

Simon-John Roberts joins thecomparisons.com from Idesta, where he was involved in developing 3D emergent technology. As Web Development Manager, he will be responsible for driving the technical aspects of the site and maintaining a unique customer experience. He is currently focused on bringing in new channels and services as well as overseeing technical development.

Simon said: “I am passionate about working with emergent technologies and am very excited about The Comparisons as a brand, which is unique and has immense potential.”

Chris McDonald, Director of thecomparisons.com, said: “Our first two months have been incredibly positive and we are pleased with the rate at which our team is expanding. With the right people in place we can continue to build and grow the business.”

Forget the Joneses and the Beckhams, These Days Brits Want to Keep Up With Their Friends

New research reveals our jealousies, lies and aspirations

Research by a new price comparison website launched this week, thecomparisons.com, has revealed that it is no longer the Joneses we’re trying to keep up with, or even celebrities, but in fact, our FRIENDS!

The research carried out by ‘Your Say Pays’ was commissioned by thecomparisons.com to help it understand how people benchmark and judge themselves against others in the build up to its UK launch.

The majority of people (39%) said they compared their own success and social standing most against that of their friends. Just 4% said they used their neighbours and, despite the continuous media hype on their influence on society, only 2% of Brits use celebrities as a barometer of status.

Making up lies to impress others featured highly, with a third of all people saying they regularly did this. The most common fib was to spice up social or love lives (35%), closely followed by ‘bumping up’ salary or qualifications (32%).

Women were found to be more career-conscious than men, and were twice as likely to lie to impress their boss, while men unsurprisingly are more likely to lie to impress their neighbours or friends. Women were also found to be more jealous than men and were 10% more likely to secretly resent their close friends because of what they had or who they were.

Originally featured in a comic book strip by Arthur R. Momand, the term ‘Keeping Up with the Joneses’ dates back to 1913 and refers to the desire to be seen as good as your neighbour, using comparative benchmarks. And with ‘Jones’ remaining as the second most popular surname in Britain, behind ‘Smith’, understanding the profile of the Joneses and their influence on society is surprising.

Using a data resourse of more than eight million people, thecomparisons.com has looked into who the typical ‘Jones’ is today.

He is most likely to be male, and unsurprisingly lives in Wales. Mr Jones favours singledom and drives a hatchback, he holidays in the Med or Spain and enjoys golfing, going to the cinema and food and drink. His favourite newspaper is The Daily Mail and he lives in a semi detached house.

The research also reveals the criteria against which people judge their own social standing, along with the perceptions towards different professions.

Criteria used to gauge other’s success
1) Job or profession – 36%
2) Nice house/neighbourhood – 30%
3) Peer group/social standing – 16%
4) Flashy Car – 3%
5) Designer gear – 3%

The most and least impressive jobs
1) Entrepreneur – 43%
2) Doctor – 16%
3) Lawyer –14%
4) Teacher – 4%
5) Accountant – 3.5%

Benchmarking is a daily occurrence for all of us and with more than a third of people in the UK said to have used a price comparison site to make a financial decision in the past year ¹. Industry growth predicted at annual rate of 30 – 50%, the demand for services such as thecomparisons.com is very high.

It has been reported that up to a third of new online business for car insurance can be attributed to comparison sites with the volume of traffic growing twice as quickly as online retail². Whilst thecomparisons.com will initially play to consumer demand and focus on a series of insurance based products, the brand will quickly broaden its offering to other areas, such as e-retail, money, travel and supermarket shopping.

Many of the UK’s leading insurers are already signed up, including Norwich Union, RAC, KwikFit, Swiftcover, Endsleigh and Lancaster. Customers will not only receive breadth of choice, but will receive fantastic value for money.

Chris McDonald, director of thecomparisons.com, said: “We compare ourselves to other people on a daily basis whether it’s what job we have, where we live or indeed something as simple as how much we’ve paid for our car insurance. It’s only natural therefore to want to be able to compare products easily and quickly and that’s why we’ve launched thecomparisons.com.”

• Over 1,100 people were surveyed in this study across the UK. Your Say Pays is a research panel operated by The Leadership Factor, the UK’s leading source of (customer) satisfaction data. For further details www.leadershipfactor.com or tel 01484 467004 for further details
• Source reference¹: You Gov
• Source reference²: ComScore Media Metrix

thecomparisons.com has launched

thecomparisons.com is a new price comparison website that will eventually offer price and product comparisons for the whole family. Whilst the site will initially play to consumer demand and focus on a series of insurance based products, the brand will quickly broaden its offering to other areas, such as e-retail, money, travel and supermarket shopping.

Many of the UK’s leading insurers are already signed up, including KwikFit, Lancaster, SwiftCover, More Than and Endsleigh. Customers will not only receive breadth of choice, but will receive fantastic value for money.

The site also hosts Comparisonville - a fully featured and building community of people, which allows customers to interact, engage and access a variety of ‘extras’, such as time-saving auto-fill quotes, renewal reminder services, relevant branded e-broadcasts, site personalisation. Comparisonville will be expanded over time to include integration with established online social networks, such as Facebook and Bebo.

Chris McDonald, director of thecomparisons.com, said: “We compare ourselves to other people on a daily basis whether it’s what job we have, where we live or indeed something as simple as how much we’ve paid for our car insurance. It’s only natural therefore to want to be able to compare products easily and quickly and that’s why we’ve launched thecomparisons.com.”