UK price comparison and switching website uSwitch.com has expanded its services with the addition of car insurance to its line of personal finance channels for consumers.

<p>Launched in 2000, uSwitch.com provides consumers with a price comparison service for a range of products, including gas, electricity, broadband providers, and personal finance products such as credit cards, personal loans and current accounts. This has now been extended to include motor insurance. <br /><br />The car insurance industry is an attractive market, with more than 25 million private cars in the UK all looking for competitive insurance policies. According to the price comparison website, analysis indicates that the internet is rapidly becoming a major route for the purchase of car insurance with more people than ever using the internet to research motor covers. <br /><br />Moreover, analysis also shows that 72% of people choose their car insurance policy based purely on price, compared to just one in 10 people who said they made that choice because they held a previous policy with the insurer. <br /><br />The personal finance channel has been a huge success for uSwitch.com since it launched in 2004 and motor insurance, as the largest general insurance product in the UK, was the natural next step for the progression of the service, said Aron Thompson, head of insurance at uSwitch.com. With more than 80 active insurers operating in this market, coupled with the many key developments including initiatives such as pay-as-you-drive for younger drivers, the market can be extremely overwhelming for consumers. <br /><br />The aim of the channel is to have a broad mix of direct insurers, brokers and niche players to offer consumers a well-rounded share of the market.</p>