Earthquake Commission director and former Vero New Zealand CEO Roger Bell is developing a general insurance comparison website in the country.

Major insurers have so far refused to let their products feature on the site, but the group is in discussions with New Zealand-based insurers, co-developer Richard Conway told insuranceNEWS.com.au. Mr Conway is CEO of search engine optimisation company Pure SEO.

New Zealand does not have a general insurance aggregator.

The website for the proposed iCompare aggregator features a plea for New Zealanders to write to their insurers and express support for the site.

“The major insurers operating in this country have refused to work with us to allow Kiwis to make convenient and accurate comparisons of insurers’ terms and conditions, denying Kiwis the benefits enjoyed by consumers in many countries overseas.”

Both Suncorp – Mr Bell’s former employer – and IAG have refused to co-operate with comparison sites because of concerns about judging insurance on price alone.