Online financial comparison service Kanetix.ca launched its Car Insurance Quick Quote app on January 16, representing the first time Canadians have been able to obtain multiple auto insurance quote estimates on their iPhone.
The free app is available directly from the Apple App Store, and users can quickly compare how much it costs to insure one or multiple cars in a matter of seconds. It follows on the release of an app that compares travel insurance quotes. An auto insurance app for the android is forthcoming.
Andrew Lo, chief information officer of Kanetix, notes that one key feature of the app is that it allows consumers to use their phones to scan the Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) on their cars. The scanned vehicle information is automatically populated into the app’s forms for quote updates.
The VIN scan feature has allowed Kanetix to reduce the number of questions to consumers required for a quotation down to three. Aside from prompting for vehicle information, the app also asks the consumer for their postal code as well as for their ticket and accident history.
Once the information is input, the app will access quotes from 40 different insurance companies with which Kanetix does business. Quote estimates are displayed on the phone’s screen ranked by low, medium, or high premiums.
If consumers wish to follow through with a quote, one touch of a button will direct them to the Kanetix site, which will then direct the consumer to the applicable insurer.
“We're very excited to be offering the first car insurance comparison app in Canada, and hope drivers take advantage of its benefits when looking to compare the cost of insuring different vehicles,” said Janine White, vice president of Kanetix.ca. “Given the popularity of smartphones in Canada, we [at Kanetix] felt offering an app that helps drivers get instant quote estimates for their car insurance was a logical next step in evolving our customer's experience.”
Lo said a key impetus for creating the app is the knowledge that Canadians are increasingly using their mobile devices to shop online. Kanetix statistics show that consumers are almost using their phones to shop more often than their desktops.
