It won’t be selling insurance per se, but Wal-Mart customers can click through a link on the website to get competing quotes from several car insurance providers, the ubiquitous chain store announced today.
By clicking through a link on walmart.com, or by going to autoinsurance.com directly, clients to get competing quotes from several car insurance providers such as Progressive, Esurance and Safeco to choose the policy and price that best fit their needs – just one more player to enter the highly competitive online insurance market.
“We are always looking for ways to reduce complexity,” Daniel Eckert, Wal-Mart’s senior vice-president of services told CNN, “increase transparency, and give everyday low prices to Wal-Mart shoppers.”
Wal-Mart will also promote the service via displays in its stores.
The online service is already available in eight states: Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Texas, with plans for a nationwide rollout in the coming months.
Wal-Mart points to the savings to be had, citing a pilot program survey it conducted last year in Pennsylvania, where customers who purchased policies from autoinsurance.com on average said they saved $1,168 a year.
Wal-Mart said the service originated from talks with Tranzutary Insurance Solutions, a New Jersey-based insurance broker that runs the site.
