British online comparison company MoneySupermarket.com has launched a car insurance app for both android mobiles and the iPhone which it is believed will revolutionise the industry.
Designed by award winning digital communication company MIG (Mobiles Interactive Group), the app compares deals available through over 100 different companies in just three clicks!
How do I get quotes?
The first time that the app is used will normally prove to be the most time consuming as the user must create a MoneySupermarket account. This will contain information about the individual which is pertinent in the calculation of car insurance premiums; with information such as the driver’s age, gender, occupation and the area in which they live all being required. This is necessary as they are all factors that insures take into account when calculating the statistical likelihood of the individual making a claim which ultimately influence the premiums that the insurer is willing to offer.
Information about the vehicle is also required, but MIG has come up with a clever concept to reduce the amount of time that is required entering vehicle details. MoneySupermarket app users need only take a photograph of the vehicle registration plate, and the app will then retrieve information about the vehicle which is required in the calculation of premiums from the DVLA (Driver and Vehicle Licencing Authority) database.
These two factors are then collated and the app returns the car insurance quotes which are on offer to the individual through all of the insurers that have a presence on the MoneySupermarket website, adding to over 100 in total.
The company will also retrieve quotes for specialist types of cover, such as classic car insurance as well as young drivers car insurance; with the latter having obviously been one of the more discriminated groups of late.
How do I purchase?
All of the quotes which are on display will have two buttons located alongside them. One will be called ‘click to call’, and allows the user to directly contact the insurer from their phone to make enquiries about certain areas of the policy of which they may be uncertain.
The other button will be called ‘click to purchase’, which allows the users to purchase the policy on the spot if they are confident that it is the right policy for them. For this the user will of course need to enter valid credit or debit card details over the phone.
Revolutionising the industry
The MoneySupermarket car insurance app has been met with critical acclaim since its launch. This was capped off with it winning The Guardian’s consumer app of the week award when it was first released, with Mark King praising it for its ease of use and functionality.
MoneySupermarket’s Julie Fisher predicts that the success of the app will inspire other comparison companies to make a similar effort in the near future. It should also not be ruled out that apps for other areas of insurance could be launched to accompany it.
Although the MoneySupermarket app is only usable to android and iPhone users in the UK, it will likely inspire comparison companies in other markets to launch a similar apps for their customers in the coming years as the app market continues to grow unabated.