Internet Shopping For Loans

If your browsing the net for personal finance news your already probably fairly web savvy, however new reports indicate that not everyone is, but the benefits that can be obtained by doing so means it might be worthwhile to start. Halifax has found that single men are the group most likely to apply for an unsecured personal loan online, overall men are 50% more likely to use the Internet to take out a personal loan than women and singles make up 46% of online loan applications. When you consider the recent cuts in online loan rates from companies such as Cahoot and Sainsbury’s Bank maybe it’s about time women followed suit. Additionally it’s not just loans that offer good value when you shop around online. Swinton found that spending just an hour shopping around online for car insurance could save most consumers £52.

Halifax’s research also found that Londoners are most likely to get a loan online (23%) with Scots least likely with only 6% of loan applications made via the Internet. The benefits of shopping online for financial products are more than just price. You can compare different deals more quickly and indeed simultaneously rather than having to visit branches individually and can also benefit from exclusive deals such as Sainsbury’s Bank’s online loan cuts to 6.5% for loans over £5,000 recently announced for the summer. Shopping online also gives the consumer access to specialist personal finance companies that only operate via the Internet who have lower overheads and therefore can offer competitive pricing, Cahoot have also recently slashed their loan rates to 5.8% on loans between £5,000 and £20,000 and their rates on lower loan amounts.

Swinton’s research on car insurance showed that not only can consumers save money on their quotes but that it needn’t mean hours sat in front of the computer to make savings. The fact that obtaining seven quotes saves money in comparison to one and can be done in under an hour illustrates one of the alluring qualities of shopping online; your financial products can be compared and the best one obtained quickly, saving not only money but also time. Again Swinton’s research showed that not enough people take advantage of what’s out there, less than one motorist in a hundred obtains seven quotes.

Shopping online isn’t without its drawbacks however, it can be tedious, particularly if you’re on dial-up and have to endure long load times for websites. Swinton also pointed out that one insurance website in nine was either not working or crashed, something you don’t have to deal with when you buy face to face

To be honest, spending your free time shopping around online for the best loan or insurance quote isn’t most people’s idea of a fun way to spend your free time, Halifax noted that women are less likely to put the time in than men. However as Swinton point out, it doesn’t need to take a long time and saving money on your financial products is worth it and means in the long run you have more cash to spend on the kind of shopping trips you actually enjoy!

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