New research reveals Australians are missing an opportunity to save a staggering $742, 558, 103 per year on insurance by not shopping around.

The findings show Australia is far behind the United Kingdom in actively sourcing the best value insurance matched to their needs. The iSelect Insurance Index reveals Australian households with life, health or car insurance could be saving an average of $551 each per year by switching to policies that provide better value and match their individual needs.

Finance writer and former financial planner, Justine Davies thinks these figures are alarming, in light of the current economic climate.

"With interest rates on the rise and our bills going up and up every week, this is one area where there is potential to make significant savings by shopping around. Think what $551 could buy your family, with Christmas around the corner," says Davies.

While exploring Australian and British insurance purchasing behaviour for the first time, the research revealed that Australians spend a third more on insurance than the Brits. In the UK, consumers are almost three times as likely as Australians to use comparison shopping wWb sites to purchase car insurance and twice as likely for purchasing health insurance. Furthermore, 79% of British consumers say they have saved money by using comparison Web sites to buy car insurance, without compromising the quality of cover they are receiving.

Davies says that this is because Australians find insurance complex and confusing, that they put in "too-hard basket." According to him, Australian consumers should become more active and review their insurance to reflect "a significant life change."

"Shopping around is easy if you use a comparison website, which will help you compare policies and find the one that best suits your needs in one location," added Davies.

The iSelect Insurance Index highlights that while eight in ten Australians say they want a better deal on their insurance, a high level of inertia exists among households when it comes to insurance. Almost half of Australians with car insurance have only a rough idea of what their policy includes (49%), with health and life insurance holders showing similar apathy (43% and 48% respectively).

iSelect's General Manager (Corporate Affairs) Paul Cross said the findings show Australian consumers are crying out for better value. The iSelect Insurance Index revealed less than a third of Australian households are very confident they are getting value for money from their insurance.

"It highlights that Australians are great at driving a bargain and even haggling for a better deal on whitegoods, new cars and other products, but less confident when it comes to buying insurance," he said.

The Index also showed that Australians are committed to saving money, but may be focusing their efforts on cents rather than dollars. Mr. Davies observed that an overwhelming number of Australians buy groceries on special, use vouchers for their petrol and use store loyalty cards.

However, Davies thinks that while these can all be great savings strategies, Australians are missing an opportunity to save a substantial amount by not actively researching and comparing when it comes their insurance. These can be done through comparison shopping which involves using a service that matches products or services to a consumer's needs, often via a website or over the phone.

The quantitative survey was conducted by Stollznow Research via an online permissionbasedpanel in November 2010 with 1,000 Australian and 1,000 UK residents aged 18?60 years. The research wascommissioned by iSelect, the leading provider of online comparison services.