CMA lays down new rules for price comparison sites, opens new probe
A competition investigation has been launched to find out if a UK price comparison website is increasing prices for home insurance, while also laying down new rules for how all sites use data and display information.
The Competition and Markets Authority on Tuesday published its final report following a market study into the use of price comparison sites and other apps.
While the probe found that these sites help consumers shop around, the CMA found sites were often not working in people’s best interests.
One unnamed site's contracts will face a deeper probe over the way it has set up contracts with insurers, because the CMA said it "suspects this may result in higher home insurance prices".
The CMA has also laid down new ground rules for all sites, which include: being 'Clear, Accurate, Responsible and Easy to use' (CARE); that all sites should be clear about how they make money; how many deals they’re displaying and how they are ordering the results; that sites should be clear on how they protect personal information and how people can control its use; and that it should be made as easy as possible for people to make effective comparisons or use different sites, for example through better information about products.
"The good news is that more than 90% of the people we surveyed were very or fairly satisfied with the sites they used," said Andrea Coscelli, chief executive of the CMA.
"But we have also found that improvements are needed to help people get even better deals. We have set out ground rules for how sites should behave, as well as being clear on how regulators can ensure people have a better experience online.
"We are also taking enforcement action where we suspect the law may have been broken."