Three or four years ago, a ghost haunted the local insurance landscape: Amazon. According to several media reports, the world’s largest online marketplace is planning to launch an insurance comparison portal in Britain. Many intermediaries in this country feared that Amazon would expand its range to Germany and, with its broad reach, make life difficult for intermediaries. Now Amazon will actually launch an offer for insurance on the island, as reported by the British news channel BBC.
According to the report, it is an “insurance shop” which is expected to open at the end of the year. So far, only household and residential building policies from insurers Ageas UK, Co-op and Allianz are available. More insurers are expected to follow in the next year. Furthermore, initially only a limited number of Amazon customers will be able to take out insurance through the marketplace, for which Amazon will receive commissions.
Not the cheapest offer
Jonathan Feifs, Amazon’s general manager for EU payment products, told the BBC that buying insurance online is “established” in the UK. He hoped Amazon’s offering would be simpler and more transparent than that of its competitors, but he didn’t say it would necessarily be the cheapest.
“As Amazon has shown on its retail market, it may not be the cheapest provider in town, but it’s the ease of use that gives it an edge over the competition, especially considering it’s present as an app on millions of phones,” he quotes. The BBC’s assessment of Susannah Streeter, an analyst at investment firm Hargreaves Lansdown. (jb)
