How Do Insurance-Comparison Sites Make Money?

What are insurance-comparison sites?

Insurance-comparison sites are online marketplaces where insurance shoppers can see and compare quotes from multiple insurance companies at once. Depending on the site, users may see many or few quotes. Quotes may be personalized to the user, or they may be general estimates.

Insurance-comparison sites are typically free to use. How they make money depends on each site’s business model.

How insurance-comparison sites make money

Insurance-comparison sites have multiple ways to make money, and many use a combination of revenue models. For example, Insurify primarily earns revenue through commissions for policies sold through its marketplace and advertisements.

Here are the most common ways comparison sites earn revenue.

Revenue Model	How the Site Gets Paid	When They Earn Money	Cost to You	Common Indicators of Quality
Commission-based	Insurers pay a commission	After a completed sale	Free	Site is licensed and can bind policies directly
Lead generation	Insurers, agents, or third parties pay for your contact information	When you submit a form or request a quote	No up-front monetary cost, but they typically sell your data	Immediate calls, emails, and texts after submitting info
Affiliate marketing	Partner pays when you click a link or start a quote	When you click or complete a partner form	No monetary cost	Redirected to multiple external websites
Ads and sponsored listings	Insurers pay the site for ad placement or preferred positioning	When you view or click on an ad	No monetary cost	Listings labeled “sponsored” or “featured”

Commissions on policies sold

Some comparison sites use a revenue model that resembles a traditional insurance agency. These sites operate as online agents or brokers, and they earn commissions from insurance companies when you buy a policy through their site. Their revenue model is cost-per-sale: They get paid after a purchase, not by charging you extra.

Comparison sites that use this business model are most likely to show you multiple personalized car insurance quotes for you to compare. This is Insurify’s main business model. The company is licensed to sell auto insurance policies in all 50 states and Washington, D.C.

Lead generation and affiliate fees

Sites that operate with a lead generation business model make money by selling your data. They typically have contracts with certain insurance companies, agents, or both that commit them to gathering your data and passing it along to their business partners. 

Comparison sites may also earn money with affiliate fees. The site earns money when you click a partner link, complete a form, or request a quote, even if you don’t buy a policy.

Ads and sponsored listings

Another common revenue model allows comparison sites to make money by showing ads on their site, or sponsored offers, where partners pay for better placement on the page. The advertising and sponsorship partners pay the comparison sites when you view or click on an ad or featured offer.

Some comparison sites employ advertising as part of a larger strategy that also includes commissions. For example, Insurify may show users partner ads along with actual quotes.

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What to consider before you use an insurance-comparison site

Since insurance-comparison sites vary greatly, here’s what to consider before you plug your information into a comparison tool:

• Sites may not show every insurer. Hundreds of companies sell auto insurance. Any comparison site will only show you quotes from the insurers it partners with. For some, that’s a very limited list.

• Higher-paying partners may influence which quotes you see and in which order. Sites that rely mainly on lead generation, advertising, and sponsorship may base recommendations and placement on the page on how much each insurer pays them per click.

• Data-sharing practices vary widely. Some sites make money primarily by selling consumer data (leads) to insurers, brokers, or agents. Others may only share your data with business partners specifically to provide you with accurate quotes.

How a comparison site makes money directly affects whether you’ll see actual quotes, get sent to another site, or receive phone calls and emails from the site’s partner companies. This is why it’s important to look for a site’s “how we make money” disclosure and privacy policies.

Are insurance-comparison sites biased?

Each comparison site operates a bit differently. The best way to decide for yourself if a site is biased is to read its disclosures, check third-party ratings on sites like Trustpilot, and read real user reviews.

Tips for using insurance-comparison sites

Insurance-comparison sites can make shopping for car insurance faster and easier, especially if you follow these tips to get the best possible results:

• Try multiple sites. Different sites may have access to different insurers.

• Use the same information to request quotes across all sites. Don’t change coverage levels, types, or deductibles.

• Look for sites that work on commission. They’re more likely to show you real, personalized quotes without sending you elsewhere to get them.

• Look for (and read) clear disclosures. Legitimate insurance-comparison sites will tell you clearly how they make money (for example, through commissions or affiliate fees) and what they’ll do with the information you share.