Google Introduces Long-Anticipated Insurance Shopping Site, from The New York Times.
The United States insurance industry has been anticipating — or dreading — Google’s entry into insurance shopping for the better part of a year. The wait is over.
On Thursday, the company announced it was introducing a United States version of its Google Compare auto insurance shopping site, which has been operating in Britain for two years. The site, which is basically a search engine for insurance quotes, is the latest entry into an increasingly crowded field of comparison-shopping sites that try to sell auto and other kinds of insurance with side-by-side comparisons similar to how Kayak sells hotels and flights.
The site will start in California and focus on car insurance, Google said. Customers enter information like their name and driver’s license number, and the site provides quotes in a few minutes. If and when a customer buys, Google will collect a referral fee from insurers.
