LONDON: Amazon.com Inc is sounding out some of Europe’s top insurance firms to see if they would contribute products to a UK price comparison website in what would be a major foray by the US online retail giant into the region’s financial services.
Three industry executives told Reuters they had held talks with Amazon about the possible launch of a site. One said the talks were part of several discussions Amazon is having with insurers. A second said there were no imminent launch plans.
While it was not immediately clear what type of insurance would be sold on any Amazon site, home and motor policies are popular sellers on existing UK price comparison sites.
“As Amazon becomes a larger part of the home, whether it’s products delivered to the home, security monitoring, home services like Wi-Fi installation, you can make the case that insurance is the next logical step for this company,” said Morningstar analyst RJ Hottovy.
The industry sources declined to be named as the talks are confidential. Amazon declined to comment.
An Amazon price comparison website for insurance products would be a potential challenge to existing UK sites given the US company’s cutting-edge technology, reach and loyal customer base.
Two of the most high profile are comparethemarket.com which shows products from insurers including AXA, Hastings and eSure; and GoCompare, which lists insurance from firms such as Santander.
A UK insurance site would also build on Amazon’s existing products in Europe offering extensions to manufacturers’ warranties, a service known as Amazon Protect. While Amazon’s loyal customer base and reach would probably prove attractive to some insurers happy to cede some of their premiums to Amazon to expand sales, the potential for premiums to be forced lower through competition could deter others.
One of the industry sources said the comparison site model fitted Amazon’s strategy of offering a range of products, as opposed to partnering with one firm. — Reuters
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