It’s one of the worst-kept—and surely most disruptive—secrets in the US insurance market. Soon, Google could be piloting its Google Compare auto insurance comparison shopping site in the US, following the lead of its 2012 Google Compare UK site roll out.
But the launch of Google Compare in the US apparently hasn’t been easy. Even though insurers have been mentioning Google overtures to participate on the comparison site to me for more than two years now, the Google Compare US site launch keeps getting pushed back. As late as last month the site was expected to launch in California, to be followed in Q1 2015 with likely launches in Illinois, Pennsylvania, and Texas. Last I heard was that California pilot wouldn't begin until sometime in Q1.
And one thing’s for sure: Google Compare is going to have big implications for US insurers. While doing the research for a report on what Google Compare is going to mean for insurer strategies in 2015, I took a look at a bunch of state insurance commission filings to see just what was up with the entity now officially doing business as Google Compare Auto Insurance Services Inc. What did I learn?
