|
Over a quarter of Brits have never switched financial providers, new research reveals.
Research conducted by a leading price comparison website recently shows that 26% of UK consumers – a total of 12 million people - haven't switched providers for any of the 20 most popular financial products in the last year, despite the majority anticipating that 2012 will be extremely tough financially.
The figures are quite astounding: 12% of drivers have never switched their car insurance; 13% of consumers have never switched their home insurance and 22% have never switched bank accounts.
Similar figures show that when it comes to mobile phone providers, mortgages, savings, energy providers and life insurance, between 8% and 14% of consumers have never switched, despite the obvious money saving benefits.
“Nearly two thirds of Brits are expecting 2012 to be a very difficult year for their finances, but our research shows that millions of consumers could be missing out on hundreds of pounds worth of savings by not reviewing their finances and switching to better deals on some of the most common financial products,” said John Miles, business development director at Gocompare.com, the company that undertook the research.
“Insurers, banks, energy providers and lenders do not customarily reward loyal customers with the best premiums, interest rates or tariffs, so it's up to the consumer to spend a little time seeking out the best deals,” added Miles.
Research published by Santander in 2010 found that when it comes to current accounts, millions could be missing out. The study suggested that people could miss out on £2.2 billion in interest.
Younger people are the most likely to switch current accounts as 11% of the 18-34 year old group had done so compared to 5% of 35-54 year olds, and 5% of the over 55s.
Shopping around for the best deals on everything from current accounts to savings, car insurance to home insurance is a great way to get your finances in order in 2012, so start planning now.
If you have applied for a number of loans in these strained financial times and are now becoming concerned about your debt problems, you could seek you debt advice.
Compare debt management solutions with Money Expert.
|