UK Direct Insurance Market
Comparative Analysis of Online Forms Used in

Car Insurance Quotes

  • Car Insurance Forms Are Complex
    How Much Does an Insurer Need to Know
    About a Customer to Present a Quote?

    More than you would think. On average users need to answer between 40 and 80 questions. Considering the likelihood that many will search around and compare quotes, that’s a lot of time and effort required to make an informed purchase.

    Number of Form Fields Before Quote Is Presented:

    Click bars to see all questions asked by an insurer.
      Disclaimer: The selection of insurers was based on their market share and specification. Number of fields was determined following the most basic scenario in which a potential customer was looking for a single car quote, had no accident or offence history and was the only owner and driver. Data for this analysis was obtained from hired panelists using the same details on each of the websites.

      How do the insurers reduce the number of required form fields?

      • 20xInsurers use postcode and house name/number to find user's address.

      • 19xInsurers attempt to find user's exact car description using a vehicle registration number. However, even when using the same license plate, did not always work across different platforms.

     

    • The Importance Of The First Impression
      How to Get People to Fill in All These Forms?

      Before users start answering insurers' questions, they ask themselves if the end goal of the form matches their own, if it is secure to reveal sensitive information, and how much effort it will take to complete the form.


      The Goal

      Most users just want to find out how much insurance would cost, and might be discouraged when they realize that filling in forms concludes with a payment.

      • 20xInsurers lure users with "Get a quote" or a similar Call To Action (CTA).

      • 13xAlthough on 13 websites, users who click "Get a quote" are placed on a path that leads to a The purchase.

      • 3x3 websites present purchase related steps only after users receive a quote.


      The Effort

      Most insurers reveal just part of all form fields in order not to discourage users. Only three companies displayed 100% of fields from the very start.

      Percentage of fields displayed at the first step:

        • 2xOnly two insurers built forms that unfold new fields on the same page as users answer questions.

        • 3xAn equally rare choice is to display all form fields at once on a single page.

        • 15xThe most common choice is to divide form fields into multiple steps and display each step on a separate page.


        The Security

        As internet users are becoming increasingly aware of risks related to sharing personal data, making them feel safe online is more important than ever.

        How Insurers Reassure Users of Their Security?

        • 20xAll insurance forms were delivered via a secure HTTPS connection (SSL).

        • 13x8 companies placed security badges (i.e. Norton Secured, Visa Verified) in a visible place and 5 others did so in a footer.

        • 13xCompanies placed a customer service phone number in a well exposed spot.

       

      • Instant Integration
        What Questions Are Insurers Asking
        Using Online Forms?

          Just 13 out of 106 questions were asked in all 20 of the reviewed insurance quotes.

          Percentage of insurance quotes containing a type of a question.

          Click labels to see actual questions.
           

          • Is It Still E-commerce or Just Lead Generation?
            Are Personal and Contact Details
            Really Necessary to Calculate a Quote,
            or is it all about Getting fresh Leads?

            • 20xAll 20 insurers ask users about contact details before they present a price.

            • 11x11 of them allowed users to opt-out from receiving offers, while just two offered an opt-in approach.

            • 0xNot a single insurance form had a first step with the sole purpose of collecting contact details.

            What Contact Details Are Users Asked to Provide?

            Users won't buy an insurance without knowing the price and they will be reluctant to give away their contact details unless they have decided to buy. Why? Just consider all the channels they could open for potentially unwanted promotions and communication.

            How Users Can Opt-Out from Receiving Offers?

           

          • Instant Integration
            How to Ask Questions
            to Get Answers

            Formulate questions in a manner that will make them easy to answer. Don't expect users to have all the required documents to hand; after all, they just want a quote.

            Which questions can you answer without reaching for your wallet?

            • 7x"Licence held since..."

            • 11x"How long have you held your licence?"

            • 2x"Have you held your licence for more than nine years?"

            Clearly inform users when you expect their answers to be precise and when not. Don't ask questions if you can answer them yourself.

            Have you done any market research to find out how much exactly your car is worth?

            • 16x"What is the current market value of your car?"

            • 4x"Roughly how much is your vehicle worth?

            • 0x"Based on your car description we estimate its value to ..."

           

          • How to Build Forms
            Dropdowns, Inputs, Radio Groups and Checkboxes.
            When to Use Which?

            If you require users to fill in such a large number of form fields, make sure your choice of controls is right.

            Form controls used by UK insurers to ask certain questions.

            Click a label to see how questions and answers differ for different form controls.
           
          Call us:
          • United States +1-866-732-8150
          • United Kingdom +44-2030-867-221
          • Poland +48-6612-77-770

          Better Forms = Higher Conversion

          We help fix forms and optimise conversion in ecommerce, banking and insurance. Let us show you how you can and should analyse your forms.

          Book Live Demo
           
          CLOSE