Amazon Insurance Store will open soon to begin offering home insurance to consumers in the United Kingdom. The company announced Wednesday, Oct. 19, the new service as a mark of further expansion of the e-commerce giant's move into the financial services sector.
Amazon will earn a commission from its three local insurance provider partners, including Ageas, Co-op, and LV+ General Insurance, for referring customers to the policies. According to CNBC's report, it is comparable to what people find on price comparison sites like Moneysupermarket or Comparethemarket.
The Upcoming Amazon Insurance Store
In a news statement issued by the company, Jonathan Feifs, general manager of Amazon's European Payment Products, stated that finding the correct home insurance policy can be a time-consuming and difficult effort, with estimates that sometimes leave out crucial coverage to lead with the lowest price.
Meanwhile, Amazon's new store promised to make it easier for consumers to shop for home insurance by allowing them to compare choices to make an educated and objective decision readily.
Feifs said it was only the beginning of Amazon potentially entering other types of insurance in the future. Note that the firm has never before opened a retail store dedicated to selling insurance. In the past, Amazon has offered product warranties and insurance for third-party sellers.
Amazon's Newest Financial Venture
As such, it is Amazon's most recent move into the banking sector, said CNBC. Merchants selling products on the site may already apply for credit lines from the firm. It also provides 'buy now, pay later' loans in the United States via the fintech company Affirm and in the UK through the banking behemoth Barclays.
The firm began offering insurance to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the UK last year.
Amazon's entry into insurance follows the so-called insurance technology or insurtech hype. Many firms have raised significant funds by arguing that insurance needs digitization.
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Amazon During and After the Pandemic
On CNBC's report, an analyst at research firm CCS Insight, Ben Wood, said the decision indicated that Amazon is trying to revitalize its attempts to diversify its company further as we emerge from the epidemic and pressure builds on its conventional activities.
When people in 2020 were quarantined and unable to go shopping in person, they turned to the internet, which led to a surge in sales for Amazon.
However, the company shares have dropped almost 30% this year as investors worry about a slowdown in e-commerce sales due to the cost-of-living problem and increasing interest rates, which have been particularly hard on technology equities. On top of all that, Amazon faces a dismal Christmas shopping season, especially in the UK, where authorities have warned of blackouts this winter owing to the interruption of gas supply brought on by the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
Applying For Home Insurance
Customers who are interested in applying for house insurance via Amazon may do so by completing a questionnaire tailored to their specific requirements. They are then presented with a list of insurance quotations from Amazon's partners, along with consumer reviews and ratings.
After making their choice, customers may purchase their policies using Amazon's secure checkout system.
The program is now only accessible to a small number of beta testers, but it will expand to the whole UK by the end of 2022.
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This article is owned by Tech Times
Written by Trisha Kae Andrada
