Why this quote comparison site launched its own brokerage

Comparison website vendor Ratehub Inc. is now operating its own property and casualty insurance brokerage.

“When it’s our own sales staff, we have the full insight into close ratios and contact ratios,” said Alyssa Furtado, co-CEO of Ratehub Inc. and co-founder of Ratehub.ca, in a recent interview.

Ratehub announced June 1 the launch of its new P&C brokerage, RH Insurance.

Before it launched RH Insurance, Ratehub.ca was already letting consumers compare quotes for home and auto insurance, as well as life insurance, travel insurance, mortgages, credit cards, savings accounts, chequing accounts and guaranteed investment certificates. With its insurance site, Ratehub.ca aggregates leads for brokers and direct writers.

RH Insurance is now placing coverage for auto, home, rental units, motorcycles and recreational vehicles. RH Insurance started placing P&C coverage May 11, said Furtado. RH Insurance operates online and does not have a bricks-and-mortar office.

When a customer gets P&C quotes from Ratehub.ca, RH Insurance could get the lead, another brokerage could get the lead or a direct writer could get the lead.

“In the event that the customer is interested in a quote by one of [the insurers distributing through brokers], and our brokerage serves that carrier, then we will go in the rotation and get the lead sometimes,” said Furtado.

Operating a brokerage isn’t new for the company. After operating as a comparison website for five years, Ratehub launched a mortgage brokerage, CanWise Financial, in 2014, said Furtado.

“We had tremendous success having that mortgage brokerage,” Furtado told Canadian Underwriter of CanWise Financial. “We always thought we might do that in insurance as well and we spent the first two and a half years just scaling up our leads in insurance and then felt it was the right time to launch a (P&C insurance) brokerage.”

Ratehub hired Morgan Roberts as director of sales for RH Insurance this past January, said Furtado. From 2013 through 2020, Roberts had worked for Mitchell & Whale Insurance Brokers Ltd.

“We are always going to be passionate about comparison and the marketplace side of the business. It is just in certain areas we see an opportunity to go even deeper and take the customer all the way to close, for some of the products we offer,” said Furtado.

RH Insurance places through a number of carriers and MGAs including April Canada, Aviva, Burns & Wilcox, Coachman, Economical, Hagerty, MAX Insurance, Optiom, SGI Canada and Wawanesa, as well as through the Facility Association.

RH Insurance provides 24/7 online quote comparison and customer portal access, as well as personal sales and customer services via phone and email during business hours.