The FSA visited a sample of the firms responsible for the 17 websites that were assessed during the initial review and found that many of them had made improvements to their websites and processes.
However, the FSA has identified two specific areas where some firms need to make further improvements:
Obtaining better information from insurers about the level of excesses that apply to insurance policies; and
Making more clear the assumptions about consumers' needs and circumstances that some websites use to obtain quotes.
In addition, the FSA carried out a review of aggregator firms' advertising and found the vast majority of firms have clear, fair and not misleading adverts. In a small number of cases, the FSA found a lack of clarity in some of the terms used, and adverts which could give consumers a misleading expectation of the firm's market coverage and the amount they could save on insurance premiums.
Dan Waters, the FSA's director of retail policy and conduct risk, said: "We are pleased that firms have made improvements in the information they provide. But it is imperative that all comparison websites provide clear information so that consumers can make informed decisions. We have contacted all websites involved in our review, to set out our findings and the standards we expect. Where needed, we are requiring firms to take prompt action to address our remaining concerns.
"We would certainly encourage people to shop around to find the best insurance deal for them, and recognise that many people use comparison websites to do this. It is important to reiterate that people should compare what is covered by a policy, to ensure that it meets their requirements, and not just focus on the price."
The FSA has given detailed feedback to the firms it visited and written to all other websites involved in the review. As appropriate, it requires firms to take any remedial action necessary to ensure that website users are consistently treated fairly. The FSA will continue to keep these sites under review to make sure that they take steps to meet the standards it expects, and will take direct action if firms fail to do so.
Hayley Parsons, chief executive of Gocompare.com said; "The comparison industry has embraced what the FSA is doing and the process has been beneficial to both the comparison sites and the consumer. Gocompare.com has been regulated by the FSA from day one so we have warmly welcomed their most recent review and worked with them to ensure we are continuing to do everything we can to exceed their expectations. We have had some very constructive meetings with the FSA and we will continue to work closely with them in future."
"The remaining issues highlighted by the FSA are industry-wide issues not just comparison site issues. The issues around advertising, the use of assumptions in online quotes and the way excesses are displayed online apply equally if you are Direct Line, Norwich Union, Swinton or Gocompare.com. In many ways Gocompare.com is ahead of the industry because we built all our systems from scratch two years ago. But we need to address these issues as an industry, as consumers will not differentiate between one type of insurance website and another."
"At this moment in time, we feel we have come as far as we can on our own. We have never used assumptions to calculate estimated quotes - all of our quotes have always been guaranteed. However, we would join the FSA in calling for insurers to play fair on excesses, for the benefit of consumers. We depend entirely on insurers providing us with accurate information. We would like to be able to show customers the level of voluntary and compulsory policy excesses separately to allow them to make even more informed decisions, but not all insurers provide this level of detail at the moment."
