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FSA arms to examine comparison sites |
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The recent growth in the number of financial comparison websites has come under the spotlight of the FSA and the way these sites portray the financial products they cover is set to be examined against the current industry regulations. So called comparison websites claim to compare a range of competing financial products, such as car insurance, and rank them so that potential buyers can easily pick the best of them without having to do their own research. The concept of a "best buy" loans table is very appealing for anyone looking to borrow money. The problem, in the FSA's eyes, comes from the complicated nature of some of these products and that fact that these sites could be described as offering advice and doing so in a manner that conflicts with the rules that govern other players in the industry. Many of the companies running these sites are not in fact authorised to offer advice on financial products in the first place and even if they were, the manner in which this is done through the websites they operate, falls foul of many of the regulations. Mainstream insurance brokers have to meet a whole host of well-defined and thorough regulations and processes, all aimed at ensuring potential buyers are given fair and accurate advice before they are sold any insurance product. Listing a series of insurers in a ranked order without taking into account the customer's personal circumstances may not be acting fairly and accurately. There are certain aspects of the current regulations, called "electronic introduction", which were designed several years ago to meet the demands of the emerging internet marketplace, but some people, in particular the British Insurance Brokers' Association, claim these no longer afford the protection that customers need. Some companies in the industry have already taken their own stance against comparison websites, with Direct Line being one of the most vocal, even repeating the decision in its advertising campaigns. |
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