Amazon has announced plans to shutter its insurance business in the UK after less than two years.

Amazon Insurance Store was launched in October 2022 as part of an industry-wide trend of big tech firms pushing into personal finance. The business sold home and contents policies through insurers LV, Co-Op and Ageas.

In a statement, the retail giant confirmed that the unit is being wound down. Vassil Gedov, head of the Amazon Insurance Store, said: “Over the last year, we have been evaluating various businesses and programmes, and as a part of that we’ve made the difficult decision to discontinue the Amazon Insurance Store.

“Customers who have purchased policies will not see any changes to their coverage, claims in process at this time, or future claims they may make during their policy term. We will provide guidance to customers on any actions they need to take as a result of this change.”

While having lofty ambitions, the unit failed to make a significant impact on the insurance market. A report from Insurance Times in May 2023 found that customers had only left 10 reviews on the site.

Google also struggled to break into the competitive insurance comparison market, shuttering its Google Compare unit in 2016.

The market has reacted to the news with Money Supermarket shares rising on Thursday by 3.5 per cent to a nine-day high.

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