Insurers reluctant to share prices

Fancy being able to log on to a website, enter a few details and see if you're getting the best price for your car or home insurance? Photo / Thinkstock

Fancy being able to log on to a website, enter a few details and see if you're getting the best price for your car or home insurance?

New Zealand insurers aren't keen to let you.

Insurers won't play ball with insurance comparison sites that operate successfully in other markets around the world.

In Britain, 90 per cent of customers have used one to get quotes on general insurance policies, a PricewaterhouseCoopers survey showed.

The sites have reduced the costs of insurance premiums there and insurers' margins have come under pressure.

But attempts by former Vero chief executive Roger Bell and Richard Conway to launch a site in New Zealand have failed because New Zealand's main insurers are not willing to share their information.

A message on the site iCompare reads: "The major insurers operating in this country have refused to work with us to allow Kiwis to make convenient and accurate comparisons of insurers' terms and conditions, denying Kiwis the benefits enjoyed by consumers in many countries overseas."

Conway said there was interest from smaller insurance companies and some from overseas.

David Naulls of Consumer NZ said the lack of a comparison site in New Zealand was bad news.

Conway said he was sure New Zealanders were paying more for insurance because of the absence of a comparison site. But Insurance Council chief executive Tim Grafton said the sites encouraged people to look at price without considering the cover.

An IAG spokesman said: "Comparison sites [cut] out the crucial element of providing a feedback mechanism between insurer and customer that can help secure the most appropriate type of cover."