Amazon has launched a small online insurance shop in the UK, initially focusing on home insurance.
It only has three insurers on board and plans to add more over the next year.
Initially, the Amazon Insurance Store will only be available to a limited number of Amazon UK account holders and payment will be made using the same payment card used for other purchases.
This is a small start, but Amazon has been eyeing the UK insurance market for some time.
Last year it partnered with a London-based broker called Insuretech to offer a range of policies to small and medium-sized businesses.
Jonathan Feifs, general manager for EU payment products at Amazon, told the BBC that buying insurance online is “an established behaviour”, particularly in the UK.
He added that he hopes Amazon’s offering will be simpler and more transparent than its competitors’ – but he didn’t say it would necessarily be the cheapest.
“As Amazon has demonstrated on its retail marketplace, it may not be the cheapest provider in town, but it’s ease of use that gives it the edge over the competition, especially given its presence as an app on millions of phones.” ‘ said Susannah Streeter, senior analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.
“However, it could turn out that amid the cost-of-living crisis, consumers will prioritize value over efficiency, giving price-competitive rivals more resilience.”
With its new company, the tech giant is entering a crowded market for insurance comparisons alongside established platforms such as ComparetheMarket and MoneySupermarket.
In 2020, ComparetheMarket was fined almost £18million for keeping insurance policies artificially high by preventing insurers from advertising cheaper elsewhere. The decision was recently overturned after a successful appeal.
Amazon said it believes it offers a “simplified” experience, with streamlined questionnaires and the need not to leave the site to actually purchase a policy once selected.
It also said it would display customer ratings and reviews left about individual insurance companies and the rate at which they were accepting claims for the policy on offer.
The new insurance shop will not be limited to Prime customers, the tech giant’s premium service.
The company will receive a sales commission from insurers but declined to say what percentage that would be.
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