Aggregators’ price cuts do not treat customers fairly
Defaqto’s report Web Aggregators 2009: The bubble is about to burst, says that to cut quotes aggregator sites offer high voluntary excesses without the consumer choosing to do so.
Mike Powell, insight analyst for general insurance at Defaqto, said: "It appears that some sites are more concerned with providing cheaper premiums by defaulting the voluntary excess level.
"If an aggregator defaults to a voluntary £500 excess, quotations that are provided are based on this level of excess. If the customer chooses an insurance provider whose compulsory excesses are not clearly stated, they could find themselves with an excess of £600 or more when they need to claim. This clearly is not treating customers fairly and aggregators must remove the automatic defaulting of excesses and allow the customer to make their own choice."
The research looked at 19 major aggregators and more than 60 white-labelled sites across the motor and home sectors.
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