Amazon said on Wednesday that third-party services will be provided initially by Ageas UK, Co-op, and LV= General Insurance, a unit of German insurer Allianz, and that it hopes to add more insurers "early next year."
Moneysupermarket.com's stock dropped more than 8% on Wednesday after it was revealed that Amazon will enter the insurance-price comparison market.
"Amazon will be a major threat if it invests and focuses its efforts in this market," Peel Hunt analysts wrote in a note, adding that insurance, including home insurance, accounts for approximately 43% of Moneysupermarket's business.
Moneysupermarket said earlier this week that it expected annual core profit to be near the top of market expectations, as Britain's cost-of-living crisis focused consumers' minds on saving money.
Other comparison site operators include Uswitch, Compare the Market, and GoCompare, all of which are owned by Future, whose stock has dropped by more than 3%.
Insurers are concerned that tech firms will steal a march on them and are eager to collaborate with them, offering them commissions for selling their products.
According to Simon Hird, partnerships director at LV= General Insurance, the Amazon portal was "an exciting move for the industry."
According to Charles Offord, managing Director of Co-op Insurance, the site will give insurance customers more options for purchasing coverage.
For several years, Amazon has considered launching a comparison website in the United Kingdom. In 2018, Reuters was the first to report on its plans.
According to Amazon, the new portal, Amazon Insurance Store, will also include customer reviews and ratings on insurance companies, as well as the rate at which claims were accepted for policies offered.
Last year, Amazon partnered with Lloyd's broker Superscript to provide insurance to small and medium-sized UK businesses.
It began offering motor insurance in India through Acko General Insurance in 2020 and also offers product warranty insurance in Europe.