Extending its financial services arm, Amazon moves into home insurance with a comparison site to challenge the big four — MoneySuperMarket, Go Compare, Compare the Market and Confused.com.
At first, there will only be three insurance companies to choose from, which when compared to the big four comparison sites 100s, seems a risky venture.
Jonathan Feifs, Amazon’s general manager of European payment products said: “Shopping online for home insurance is a well-established experience, and our goal is to exceed customers’ expectations when it comes to the Amazon Insurance Store.”
“This initial launch is just the beginning—we’ll continue to innovate and make refinements, all with the aim of delighting customers and providing the most convenient shopping experience possible.”
Amazon offers a range of financial products already – credit and gift cards, Apple Pay and a “buy now, pay later” service with Barclays UK – but the move into online price comparison services has proved difficult for other big names from across the pond.
For example, Google Compare, which compared credit cards, mortgages and car insurance, shut down in 2016 after failing to reach the numbers Alphabet had hoped.
Initially, Amazon is working with insurance providers Ageas, Co-op, and LV=, aiming to to simplify long-winded forms, whilst slimming down the process to get a quote. It aims to ask only the most essential questions.
The Amazon Insurance Store will start rolling out to select customers on 19 October, and will be available to all UK customers by the end of the year.
Find out more on amazon.co.uk/insurance and the Amazon UK mobile app. To celebrate this launch, Amazon customers who make a qualifying purchase of a home insurance policy through the Amazon Insurance Store will receive a £10 Amazon.co.uk gift card.