FinanceScout24: Scout24 now also brokers mortgages and insurance policies
Competition among mortgage and insurance platforms in Switzerland is intensifying. The provider Scout24 Switzerland is now launching a direct competitor offering to the already established providers such as Comparis and Moneypark.
On its new platform "FinanceScout24", Scout24 has been offering customers deals on mortgages, small loans and motor vehicle insurance since the beginning of the week. The goals here are ambitious. "We want to become one of the major players in the market," CEO Gilles Despas told the media in Zurich on Wednesday.
Scout24 intends to benefit not least from the integration of the new offers into its existing platforms. A potential buyer of a property on "Immoscout24" is now also immediately forwarded to the offers for mortgage financing if he is interested, a car buyer on "Autoscout24" can also compare and apply for offers for financing his purchase and for vehicle insurance.
Still room
Despas was convinced that the starting position for the launch of the new service in Switzerland was good. Unlike in Germany or the UK, for example, the online share of the financial and insurance market is still low. This also means that competition is still low: "There is still room.
The Swiss mortgage market, for example, has an annual volume of mortgage redemptions and new mortgages worth around 170 billion francs, said Jan Hinrichs, who is responsible for "FinanceScout24". Only about 4 billion francs, or 2.5 percent of this sum, is currently brokered by online providers such as Moneypark, the Comparis company Hypoplus or others, he said: "There is still huge potential here".
The market for consumer loans also still offers great potential, according to Hinrichs. Across Switzerland, small loans worth around 4 billion Swiss francs are concluded annually, of which only around 10 percent are brokered online.
100 new employees
The new portal represents the largest investment in Scout24 Switzerland's history, Despas said. A total of around 100 additional jobs would be created within the new business unit by the end of next year.
In the spring of this year, Scout24 had already acquired the mortgage broker Hypoguide. This will continue to operate under its previous name, but its offerings will be integrated into the new platform, Despas said.
Expand portfolio
The partner companies in the "FinanceScout24" offering currently include eight providers of motor vehicle insurance, four consumer credit companies and over 40 mortgage providers. The "partner portfolio" is to be continuously expanded, promised those responsible.
There are plans to expand the range to include other products: In the future, it could also offer household and liability insurance, vehicle leasing, as well as life insurance and pillar 3a products.
Scout24 Switzerland is owned half by the media company Ringier and half by the insurer Mobiliar. There is no connection with the German provider Scout24 - apart from a license to use the name. (SDA)
