A Guide to Gocompare.com Car Insurance

• Gocompare.com is one of many comparison websites now in existence
• It aims to highlight a broader selection of product features, rather than just price
• It promises comprehensive coverage of insurance products
• The site has listings for car insurance, home insurance, credit cards and energy bills
• It has become famous for its adverts including opera singer Gio Compario
• Gocompare.com has won numerous awards for the service it offers since launching in 2006
• Remember it doesn't list every product available to consumers, just a selection

History

Gocompare.com is a relative newcomer to the UK car insurance scene, having only been established in 2006. The firm was set up by former Confused.com business development chief Hayley Pearsons, who saw a gap in the current market for a site that lists product features and not just bottom-line prices

Business Model

Again, what enabled Gocompare.com to set itself apart from its many rivals when it was launched was the fact that it enables its users to benefit from a comprehensive comparison on the car insurance policies available to them. That is, rather than simply showing them the basic cost of cover, the site also lists the various features of each relevant policy, including excess amount and driver terms and conditions. 

As with many of its rivals, Gocompare.com does not charge its customers anything for its service. Rather than adding fees or commissions, it charges its partners - that is insurance firms - a small fee once a sale has been made. 

Services

Gocompare.com offers its customers the ability to compare car insurance policies of more than 100 different insurers, with this range just as great or even greater than most of its rivals. Customers are able to search according to a range of criteria, including driver age, make and model of a vehicle, location and type of cover desired. 

Aside from car insurance, Gocompare.com also lists and compares a variety of other financial services products, including home insurance and personal breakdown cover. Furthermore, the site also offers regularly-updated news on the financial services industry as well as personal finance advice guides. 

However, it should be noted that, as with rival sites, Gocompare.com doesn't list all the options available to consumers, just a large proportion of them. This is because a handful of car insurance firms decline to work with comparison services, with their products only available directly from them. 

Awards and Industry Recognition

 

Though a relative newcomer to the car insurance industry, Gocompare.com has nevertheless already scooped more than its fair share of awards. In particular, the site has been recognised for its innovation, for example through the South Wales Chamber of Commerce Business Awards of 2009, while Ms Parsons has also won a number of accolades herself, including the Business Leader of the Year prize at the Inspire Wales Awards 2010. 

Marketing

After a relatively low-key launch, Gocompare.com has boosted its public profile significantly, thanks in no small part to its multi-million pound advertising campaign featuring the spoof Welsh-Italian opera singer Gio Compario. 

Though the campaign has widely been credited with being one of the most annoying of recent years, it has still proven to be massively successful, both for the actor who plays the tenor and for the car insurance firm, which has benefited from a marked rise in visitors to its site. 

Further Reading

Visit the Gocompare.com website directly or read up on the car insurance industry at the site of the Association of British Insurers (ABI). Look at car insurance prices with the UK Net Guide insurance channel.