Google Compare Gets the Boot

[JohnWalker]

You may have already heard the news that was announced quietly today that Google Compare will be closing down. This is big news considering all the “death of agents” talk that was spun when Google Compare launched.

Links to the news:

Google Shuttering Comparison-Shopping Site for Financial Products - NASDAQ.com

Google to shut down its Google Compare platform on March 23 following slow adoption | 9to5Google

 

[insurance1822]

Wow. That's really awesome. I feel better. Scum bags

 

[JohnWalker]

I honestly never thought they were going to be major competition for independent agent marketing channel anyway.

 

[nyc2phi]

One small step for man...one giant leap for mankind..

 

[AZDave]

"In the email, Google says that Google Compare has led to the success the company had originally hoped for and that it will instead focus more intently on its AdWords platform and “future innovations.”

AdWords, like "Google"?


https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=iEwW6D0sht0

 

[Derrick]

I honestly never thought they were going to be major competition for independent agent marketing channel anyway.

That's what I'm thinking. Did Google just think over 350 carriers were going to abandon the IVANS system which they have spent 30 years setting up? And is known as an industry standard?

 

[JohnWalker]

That's what I'm thinking. Did Google just think over 350 carriers were going to abandon the IVANS system which they have spent 30 years setting up? And is known as an industry standard?

Not just that but think about how consumers shop online and think about google. From my own usage, Google is a place to do research and find companies to make purchases from - not actually make purchases from or through Google.

My example would be airline tickets. At least personally, I'll google airline flight and ticket details and use them as a baseline reference. Then I'll go searching below to find a better deal. I've never once clicked through from Google's search widget for more details. They give me the info I need and then I try to beat it.

In my oppinion Google owns the terms "search" and "information" in the mind of consumers not "purchase" or "marketplace" like Amazon does.

Now if amazon went after insurance, I'd be a little worried....

 

[Derrick]

Not just that but think about how consumers shop online and think about google. From my own usage, Google is a place to do research and find companies to make purchases from - not actually make purchases from or through Google.

My example would be airline tickets. At least personally, I'll google airline flight and ticket details and use them as a baseline reference. Then I'll go searching below to find a better deal. I've never once clicked through from Google's search widget for more details. They give me the info I need and then I try to beat it.

In my oppinion Google owns the terms "search" and "information" in the mind of consumers not "purchase" or "marketplace" like Amazon does.

Now if amazon went after insurance, I'd be a little worried....

Yeah, but it still comes down to carriers licensing someone like Google or Amazon to have access to real time, and thus accurate, quotes.

 

[shawnmwalker]

I just saw this, this morning from another source. WOW! I have a hard time believing it.

I would suggest that they could have had a good go at it, if they had the right team in the states to help them navigate the carrier and agent waters. They needed that.

 

[JohnWalker]

I just saw this, this morning from another source. WOW! I have a hard time believing it.

I would suggest that they could have had a good go at it, if they had the right team in the states to help them navigate the carrier and agent waters. They needed that.

They did have the right teams in place. Remember this is Google we're talking about. They worked directly like with a good number of carriers (not all but more than the average IA has access to) and even used a tech-based interdependent brokerage called "cover hound".

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Yeah, but it still comes down to carriers licensing someone like Google or Amazon to have access to real time, and thus accurate, quotes.

I can almost guarantee every insurance company out there would much rather deal with Google than some IA. They've been trying to cut IA's out of the picture for decades with little to no success. This is another one of those stories.