Presented by KIS Finance
There are comparison web sites for so many different products these days, loans, energy and car insurance to name a few. However they are a sales tool, so can a trusted broker still find you a better deal than the comparison sites?
I remember the days when I used to use an insurance broker for all of my insurance requirements. Sadly nowadays insurance brokers only seem to deal with the more complex insurance matters, such as commercial and public liability insurance, where comparison sites haven't taken over yet. I really do miss dealing with a broker for my car insurance as I feel the comparison sites are deceptive and rip me off. It is difficult to find the company with the best deal for my particular straight forward circumstances. This is probably because the comparison sites don't want me to find the cheapest company!
Many of the insurance companies quoted on the comparison web sites are owned by the same groups, a couple of insurers with lots of different names. I can only imagine that this is designed to push the smaller insurers down the list of quotes so that they are hard to find. Provided that these insurers then provide the best quote then I guess that this is fair, but these leading quotes tend to be just there to catch you. Once they think they have hold of you the prices start to go up.
I was staggered when the final premium that they wanted to charge me was almost 30% more than the initial quote, and this was without all the little extras they were trying to sell me! I questioned this and reluctantly the sales advisor went off to investigate. The reason was because I have children under 17 years old. My initial thoughts were that they would not be driving the car. I was told that the premium is higher because they are a distraction as people turn around whilst driving to keep an eye on them in the back. I replied, "the car being quoted only has 2 front seats". Strangely this did not make any difference.
The initial comparison site did not ask the question about children then the insurance company I chose did. The comparison site did ask about any car modifications along with other questions that probably only affected the occasional customer, but an important question that probably affects most customers is not asked! Then the chosen insurance company does ask this and puts the cost straight up. No surprise that the comparison site and insurance company are all owned by the same group! Therefore this is clearly a deliberate tactic to provide the lowest quotes and put their own company at the top of the list. Furthermore a week later I had to add another driver for a day, someone with no claims or convictions and they charged me an amount equal to 30% of the premium!
As finance brokers I hope the world of bridging loans and development finance never go this way. Every enquiry received for a bridging loan is completely different and I can't imagine a comparison site being able to determine which lender will provide the best deal, well not until artificial intelligence is perfected and running these sites!
For all bridging and development finance applications, decisions are made by people, and not computers searching through a list of criteria or checking a credit score. Experience in the industry, getting to know the different lenders and keeping in touch with market trends is the way to find customers the best finance deals.
Find it useful? Please share!
Find it useful? Please share!
Last updated: 23 January 2020 | © KIS Bridging Loans 2024 | Terms & Conditions
