What are product comparisons based on?

More and more Defaqto* ratings are being used by providers of home insurance with certain companies majoring on their 5 star ratings in their advertising to customers.

However you need to look beyond the glossy rating to see what this really means for you and your customer. The recent Defaqto report on home insurance published in June 2006 suggested that price had been taken into account within the ratings - this was not the case - it was in fact only the features of the cover which were actually rated and no price information was included at all.

Assessing benefits in isolation does not provide an accurate profile of any provider's proposition and at Paymentshield we are committed to maintaining our focus on value and a competitive price for the customer rather than unwanted and unnecessary options for the sake of a 5 star rating. The absence of other factors, including service and delivery, also give us cause for concern.

At Paymentshield, we recognise that a number of key factors need to be in place to provide quality 'value for money' products for you and your customers. This means that we are always seeking to maintain an attractive balance of both benefits and price. We constantly review potential improvements to them adding genuine value for your customers. At the same time, we are also very much aware of the importance in offering you a simple but affordable method of providing valuable cover.

So with the emphasis that some companies place on these ratings with their benefit and price rich policies unfortunately some of these ratings could be misleading. We will be sticking to good quality value for money products at a straightforward price.

*Defaqto provides product research services to financial professionals in the UK, through a range of products and consultancy services.

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