60-second summary
Short on time? Here are five steps to help you make the most of price comparison websites like Compare the Market:
Understand what cover you need before you compare quotes – our guides can help with that.
Focus on value and not just price to find the cover or plan that works for you.
When you start a comparison, be honest about your circumstances and check any assumptions we’ve made to get quotes that are suitable for you.
Check the policy terms before you buy to make sure it offers the cover you need.
When you compare with us, we’re showing you options, not giving professional financial advice. Always make sure you know what you’re signing up for.
Read enough and ready to compare?
Compare car insuranceComparison sites can help you save
Used the right way, we can help you make significant savings on your car insurance, home insurance and broadband, to name but a few.
Even the government agrees that sites like ours can be helpful. In an in-depth report, the Competitions and Markets Authority (CMA) found that people mainly have positive views and experiences of comparison sites. The report found that comparison sites "can offer a very easy consumer experience and useful comparisons. Among the sectors studied, this seems to work best in car insurance, where comparison sites are well established”.
Here’s how to make the most of Compare the Market.
1. Search for the right thing
Make sure you look for quotes that are appropriate to what’s right for you.
It’s no good looking at a list of basic, third-party car insurance prices if you want comprehensive cover. Or looking at life insurance premiums if you need combined life and critical illness insurance.
2. Don’t just focus on price
Cheap insurance can be tempting, but the headline monthly or annual premium we show you shouldn’t be your only consideration. When buying insurance, you’ll also want to think about:
The level of cover
The policy excess (the amount you’ll have to pay towards a claim)
Whether you want any add-ons to your cover
Take car insurance, for example: a less comprehensive policy isn’t likely to include extras, like a courtesy car if your car is damaged in an accident.
Once you have a list of quote results, you can see what impact making some changes could have on your quote. For example, you can:
Customise your quote by increasing or decreasing the excess amount
Add or remove optional cover, to see what impact this would have on cost.
But remember, don't choose an excess you can't afford if you need to make a claim. Or leave out cover that would make a real difference to your situation if you did need to claim. Especially with more complex types of insurance, like life insurance and critical illness cover, you need to pay close attention to the level of cover offered so you get what you need.
Plus, prices alone won’t tell you anything about what kind of customer service you can expect.
3. Check our assumptions and answer truthfully
To save time when you compare some products with us, we make what we call ‘assumptions’ or ‘statements’ about facts that may apply to you. For example, in the case of car insurance, these include your car being right-hand drive and having a certain number of seats.
You’ll be asked to confirm the assumptions are correct. But if any of them aren’t, you need to edit them. If you don’t and you go on to buy a car insurance policy, it might not pay out if you make a claim.
Likewise for home insurance. If you live in a house that has subsidence or live on a flood plain and don’t say so, you could find that your home policy is cancelled or won’t pay out if you make a claim.
If you edit the assumptions, we can then show you quotes that are suitable for your circumstances, if they’re available.
4. Read the small print
The cover offered by insurance providers isn’t all the same. Some might include particular types of cover as standard while others might expect you to pay to add it on.
Never buy an insurance policy without reading at least the policy summary, to make sure it’s right for your needs and circumstances. If you’re not sure what a policy offers, contact the insurance provider directly before deciding whether to go ahead and buy.
5. Don’t see quotes as advice
Listings on price comparison sites aren’t designed to provide professional financial advice. A policy might stand out in a search, but this doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a good fit for you and, unfortunately, we won’t be able to fix it if it turns out to be unsuitable. So, make sure you understand what’s offered by the policy.
Keep comparing policies regularly
Comparing doesn’t stop once you’ve bought your policy. If you simply let your insurance auto-renew, you could miss out on some great deals, so compare on a regular basis. If you use our app, we’ll do some of the hard work for you, letting you know your options before your next car insurance or home insurance renewal.
And for products like life insurance and critical illness insurance, check regularly whether you can get the same cover for a better price by switching insurance provider.
Top tip
Creating an account with us will save you the hassle of filling in your details every time you compare. We’ll keep your details and previous quotes on file, so you can get a quote faster. You’ll also get a year of rewards if you buy a qualifying product such as car insurance.
Sign up online or via the Meerkat App.
Download on the Apple App Store
Did you know?
In 2022, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) introduced rules to stop home and car insurance providers increasing prices for existing customers on renewal, while only offering their most competitive deals to new customers – a practice known as price walking.
Under the rules, most insurance providers are required to offer the same price to existing customers as they would to new customers. The FCA’s aim was to make the insurance market fairer and at the time the rules were brought in, it estimated that consumers could save £4.2 billion over 10 years.
So far, the impact has been mixed. The Association of British Insurers (ABI) reported that, in 2022, following these reforms, the average price to renew a policy fell by 7%, while the average price for a new policy rose by 11%. It remains to be seen what long-term impact the ban on price walking will have on customer’s wallets.
What can I compare through Compare the Market?
As well as car insurance, we offer a price comparison service for a whole range of essential products and services, including:
Insurance | Household utilities | Financial products |
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FAQs
How do price comparison sites make money?
If you buy a product through Compare the Market, the provider will pay us a flat fee or a commission percentage. Our price comparison service is free for you to use and doesn’t affect the way we rank our products.
See more about how we make money.
Why should I use a price comparison site?
Save time
A price comparison site can give you a quick, easy and impartial overview of suitable quotes in a matter of minutes. It can save you some of the hassle of trawling through different websites to find the right product for you.
Added perks
Many comparison sites also offer rewards, like our Meerkat Movies and Meals, which you can claim when you take out a qualifying product.
Save money
Ultimately, price comparison sites could help you save money by matching your needs to the right products. But don’t just take our word for it – the CMA report found that comparison sites "make it easier for people to shop around, and improve competition – which is a spur to lower prices, higher quality, innovation and efficiency".
Can I trust the results on Compare the Market?
Yes, we’re impartial. The results we show you are not affected by any fees we receive from providers. Our results are based on what you’ve told us are your needs, then ranked from the cheapest to most expensive. You’re also able to filter your results to suit your needs.
We work with dozens of providers, across a wide variety of product types, to help you find the right deal. We compare providers big and small. We can’t guarantee that every provider and product available is covered – some choose not to appear on comparison sites. But by using our comparison service, you could save time and still get a great-value deal.
Julie is passionate about delivering a great customer experience and rewarding people for saving on their insurance through our loyalty and rewards programme. She’s spoken to the media, including outlets like Sky News, about car and home insurance, as well as our Meerkat rewards scheme.
Our content is written by a Compare the Market expert, backed by data and enhanced by AI. Find out how we ensure accuracy and quality in our Editorial Guidelines.
