- Major UK financial comparison website operators hit by fears of AI disruption
- Shares in Moneysupermarket and GoCompare owners fall by as much as 13%
- Their business model has been threatened by Insurify’s ability to offer insurance quotes directly through ChatGPT
- Insurance follows other sectors including legal and advertising to suffer big share price declines this year on AI fears
Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell, comments:
“The insurance sector has been hit by a double blow from AI and tech innovation, wiping millions of pounds off the value of various stocks.
“It is now possible to obtain insurance quotes directly inside ChatGPT, causing investors to panic that AI will eat insurance brokers and financial comparison portals’ lunch.
“Shares in Moneysupermarket owner Mony crashed by 13% to their lowest level in 13 years. GoCompare operator Future dropped 3.2%. Various brokers on the US market including Willis Towers Watson suffered equally worrying share price declines yesterday.
“This follows a sell-off in January where £1.3 billion was wiped off Admiral’s market value over five days after AI-powered US insurer Lemonade launched cover for fully self-driving vehicles.
“Lemonade’s policy is much cheaper than for a vehicle driven by a human because autonomous vehicles are deemed safer. This triggered a debate about whether the car manufacturer and vehicle software provider would be liable in the event of a motor accident, and whether big commercial car insurers might take business off the likes of insurers like Admiral who mainly serve the public.”
What’s the latest catalyst?
“US-based insurance aggregator Insurify has launched a new service where users can compare car insurance directly through OpenAI’s ChatGPT app. Spanish insurer Tuio has also reportedly got approval to provide home insurance quotes directly inside ChatGPT, and there are other companies hoping to follow suit.
“Investors are nervous about the potential scale of disruption from AI and new technology. This has become a common theme in 2026 with share price declines recorded across multiple sectors including legal, advertising and accounting.
“We’re seeing knee-jerk reactions from investors as they panic before obtaining all the facts and make rational decisions.”
Insurance disruption has been on the cards for a while
“Getting an insurance quote through ChatGPT makes perfect sense as many people are now using chatbots to obtain information on products and services.
“People just want to get from A to B in as few clicks as possible, and if the starting point for millions of people is now an AI bot, then over time users will expect the likes of ChatGPT to be an all-singing, all-dancing portal for everything they need.
“ChatGPT’s parent OpenAI last year said it would allow users to see prices and reviews more easily and have direct links to buy items. It feels like offering insurance is a natural extension to this service. It’s a natural evolution from using financial comparison portals where you input key details and then see a list of relevant providers and quotes.
“The share price slump in the owners of Moneysupermarket and GoCompare suggests investors are worried their business could be severely damaged if people start to obtain insurance using the likes of ChatGPT.
“It suggests comparison portals will have to quickly find a way to get in on the game, such as embedding their services into ChatGPT and potentially offering bigger incentives to prospective customers as well as getting their brand to appear prominently in search results.”
