News : Car insurance goes 21st century

Keith Adams

Confused.com turns innovator with new SMS based quote service
Confused.com turns innovator with new SMS based quote service

The current war between car insurance providers to provide the best service and cheapest quotes seems to have taken another turn, with the arrival of Confused.com‘s new text message-based system. The company has built up a huge business through offering a simple and accessible way of getting your motor insurance quotes, and the new service called Quick Quote takes that concept a step further.

For those with a phobia for policy shopping or who just can’t be bothered looking around, Quick Quote is the perfect tool. Basically, you send the registration number of the car you’re thinking of insuring to a special number, and within a minute or so, your quote will be sent back to you. Sounds simple, and in operation, it is. The system requires the user to already be registered with Confused, and given that most people who’ve looked in the past will be, and that you have a ‘phone that allows you to send an SMS to a premium number (the call costs £1.00), but if you pass that criteria, you’re in business.

We’ve tested the system ourselves, and it really does work well. And quickly too – we had our price back in under a minute. Of course, if you’re idly searching and don’t have a specific car in mind, this system would be counterproductive for you (especially if you’re doing several cars at a quid a pop), but for the more straightforward quote-getter (and not a classic owner!), it really doesn’t have a downside if you’re in a rush and want things easy.

Of course, the act of buying your policy is still going to happen online or via ‘phone, but at least that quote gathering process can be speeded up significantly. It will be interesting to see how the other companies react to this new development. And whether ultimately it won’t lead to higher premiums in the future.

 

[tube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nytu2PxbXY4[/tube]

 

Keith Adams

1 Comment

  1. I’d rather get the reg from the advert / seller on the phone and go on a number of insurance sites before going to look, giving me flexibility to change TPFT/Comp., excess, named drivers etc.

    The adverts for confused annoy me too, with the ymca tune and the artist’s obsession with well endowed cartoon ladies.
    At least mammals of the mongoose family have a bit of charm.

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