Amazon entered the UK insurance comparison market just 15 months ago with The Amazon Insurance Store, but following an internal evaluation, the decision has been taken to close this arm of the business.

As reported by Reuters, the e-commerce giant introduced Amazon Insurance to select customers on October 19th, 2022, followed by a nationwide rollout by the end of the same year. Initially, the panel featured home insurers Ageas UK, Co-op, and LV=, later adding Policy Expert and Urban Jungle. However, the experiment ended after less than a year and a half.

The Challenge of Disruption

While Amazon officially cited “prioritisation” and a “strategic review,” several industry factors likely influenced the decision.

• The “Big Four” Dominance: Established comparison sites currently hold a combined market share of over 95%, making it incredibly difficult for a newcomer, even one as large as Amazon, to gain a foothold.
• A Narrow Selection: With only five providers on the panel, Amazon struggled to compete with established platforms that offer over 100 choices, making it difficult to guarantee the “best” price for every consumer.
• A Lack of Differentiation: Industry experts noted that the store didn’t solve a specific pain point beyond simply being an Amazon-branded service, failing to offer a unique “Value Proposition”.

From Comparison to “Embedded” Insurance

Amazon’s exit doesn’t necessarily mean they are done with insurance. Many analysts predict a pivot toward “Embedded Insurance” the practice of selling coverage as a seamless part of a product purchase, such as offering home insurance alongside a Ring doorbell.

The Perspective

The exit of a tech giant is a stark reminder that in the insurance world, specialist expertise and choice still reign supreme. It is one thing to master the logistics of e-commerce; it is quite another to master the complex, high-trust world of personal risk.

At VINTTRO Cover, we see this as a validation that customers still value a “one-stop-shop” that understands their specific lifestyle rather than a generic algorithm.

What are your thoughts on this announcement? Does Amazon’s exit prove that traditional specialist brokers still have the upper hand, or is the next great disruptor just around the corner?