As ten insurers tighten their grip on PCW top-five positions, new Consumer Intelligence research maps the segments where the broker model performs best, and where the real opportunity lies
Ten insurers now account for 72% of the most competitive positions in motor on price comparison websites, and 81% in home. That concentration has intensified significantly over the past two years, and broker pricing has not reversed it. Brokers reduced premiums by 12% in motor and 15% in home over the past year, roughly double the cuts made by direct providers, yet continued to lose competitive share.
The shift in home insurance tells the story most clearly. Two years ago, the split between direct and broker providers in the top five positions was roughly even. By February 2026 it had moved to 68% in favour of direct providers for annual premiums and 70% for instalment premiums. In motor, direct providers now hold around 74% of annual top-five positions. Broker pricing has become more aggressive across both lines. Competitive share has not followed.
Adding more products to PCW panels has not changed the outcome either. In motor, around 181 products were quoting on one comparison platform in February 2026, of which 104 were broker-fulfilled and 77 direct. Despite that volume advantage, broker competitive share has continued to fall. In home the position has shifted further still, with direct products now outnumbering brokers on three of the four main PCWs. And even on the platform where brokers still lead by volume, broker-only products generate top-five competitive share of under 3%. The data is unambiguous: panel breadth is not the mechanism by which competitive positions are won.
The report, ‘Competing Where It Counts: The Broker Opportunity in Personal Lines’ makes the argument that the mainstream PCW market is not where the broker advantage is strongest, and that the data is precise about where it is.
Consumer Intelligence's segmental analysis, drawn from Daily Price Benchmarking data across all major PCWs from February 2024 to February 2026, identifies the specific customer profiles where broker competitive share is holding and where it is under the most pressure. The pattern is consistent across motor and home: brokers hold their ground where risk is complex and customers are harder to place, including older drivers, those with claims histories, non-standard properties, and customers whose circumstances require careful underwriting. It is in the simple, standard segments where direct providers dominate by design. The full segmental breakdown, covering age, claims history, property type, and risk complexity across both lines, is set out in the report.
The report makes the case that as direct providers sharpen their focus on standard risks, a distinct segment of the market becomes more reliant on brokers, and that the underwriters who build genuine appetite for those risks, with the right products and pricing behind them, are the ones best placed to support brokers in competing there effectively.
"The comparison market has drawn a clear line between the risks direct providers are built to win and the risks they are not. The data in this report shows where that line sits, which customers sit on either side of it, and what brokers and underwriters need to do to compete effectively for the ones that matter most."
IAN HUGHES, CHAIR, CONSUMER INTELLIGENCE