I am not a great fan of Insurance Companies. This is mostly because of the complicated paperwork they require to sign up and to claim. It also seems to me that, like a Casino, the odds favour the house. Nonetheless we all need insurance if we buy a car or house. In the last few years, online insurance aggregators have appeared taking the slog out of finding the best deal on insurance.

Insurance aggregator websites like Hippo Insurance and Insurance Hound, known commonly as comparison shopping websites, are a relatively new phenomenon in South Africa, but have been popular in the US and UK for several years. The first generic Internet comparison shopping sites were Jango and RoboShopper and were aimed at the US market. In the UK insurance aggregator sites like MoneySupermarket.com, CompareTheMarket.com and Confused.com dominate the online market. Even the animal themes like Insurance Hound and Hippo are not entirely unique with sites like Churchill.com (a nodding bulldog) and Elephant.co.uk having pioneered this marketing idea.

As access to the Internet spreads throughout South Africa, Internet based comparison shopping is bound to explode and hopefully make life easier and cheaper for the South African consumer. Insurance aggregators promises to save consumers the time and hassle of shopping around for insurance. Users have to enter their details only once to get quotes from many different insurers.

Hippo is the best know SA insurance aggregator, primarily because of their television ads. Hippo provides insurance quotes from companies that fall under the Budget Group (Telesure in SA) including Dial Direct, 1st for Women Insurance, Budget Insurance and Auto & General Insurance.

Insurance Hound is a new player in the comparison shopping insurance market. The main difference between Hippo and Insurance Hound is the way in which quotes are generated and delivered to the user. Hippo provides the user with an online estimate which is then either confirmed or adjusted telephonically. Insurance Hound is a broker-based system that relies on its brokerage partners to provide the user with quotes via phone, email or in some cases online. There are advantages and disadvantages to both systems, however they both save the consumer time and money.

To learn more about Hippo visit www.hippo.co.za

Insurance Hound can be found at www.insurancehound.co.za (or click the banner at the top of the article).