Methodology & Data Sources
How data is collected, what sources are used, and known limitations
Data Collection Principles
Zero-risk policy: All data in this platform is collected exclusively from publicly available, free sources. No automated scraping, no competitor quote runs, no stored policy documents, no personal data from external sources.
All data in this platform is collected from one of three source types:
- Public regulatory data — Published by the FCA, ABI, or other regulators for public access.
- Public transparency tools — Google Ads Transparency Centre, Meta Ad Library, Google Trends. These are free tools published for public use.
- Analyst observations — Team members manually note publicly visible information such as aggregate Trustpilot ratings (as displayed on public pages), published press releases, and publicly stated marketing claims.
What We Do NOT Do
- Scrape or automatically access competitor websites
- Run competitor quote journeys for benchmarking
- Store competitor policy wording documents
- Store individual consumer review text
- Use APIs to extract data from review platforms
- Take screenshots of competitor websites
- Collect or store any personal data from external sources
- Use any data obtained through misrepresentation
- Access any gated, login-required, or non-public content
Data Sources
| Source | Data collected | Legal basis | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| FCA Register | Provider authorisation, FCA reference numbers, complaints data | Public register, published for public access | None |
| ABI Statistics | Market size estimates, aggregate industry data | Published reports for public consumption | None |
| Google Trends | Relative search interest by term, region, and time | Public tool designed for this use | None |
| Google Ads Transparency Centre | Competitor ad copy and active campaigns | Public transparency tool, published by Google | None |
| Meta Ad Library | Competitor social ad creative | Public transparency tool, mandated by regulation | None |
| Trustpilot (public pages) | Aggregate star rating and review count only | Publicly displayed on profile pages, manually noted | None |
| Published press / PR | Competitor announcements, launches, news | Public media published by the companies | None |
Known Limitations
- No direct pricing data: Without running competitor quotes or licensing pricing data, we cannot compare exact premiums. Pricing intelligence requires a licensed data source (e.g., Defaqto) in future.
- No policy feature comparison: Without accessing competitor policy documents, feature-level comparison is limited to what competitors publicly state in marketing materials.
- Trustpilot ratings are point-in-time: Manually recorded and may not reflect real-time changes. Updated periodically.
- Market size is estimated: Based on ABI published data which may lag by 6-12 months.
- Competitor information is analyst-maintained: Accuracy depends on regular review and updating by the team.
- No automated alerts: This version requires manual monitoring. Alert automation would require additional tooling.
Opportunity Scoring
Opportunities are scored on two dimensions, each rated 1-5:
| Dimension | 1 | 3 | 5 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Impact | Marginal / niche | Moderate market relevance | Large mainstream opportunity |
| Feasibility | Major change / investment | Moderate effort | Quick config / messaging change |
Priority Score = Impact x Feasibility (max 25). Opportunities are ranked by this score.
Competitor Tier Classification
| Tier | Definition | Monitoring depth |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 | Direct competitors most similar to Holiday Extras | Full: regular observation, ad tracking, review monitoring |
| Tier 2 | Major players with significant market presence | Regular: quarterly review, ad tracking |
| Tier 3 | Niche specialists and smaller players | Light: quarterly check, event-driven |
Glossary of Terms
Definitions of key terms used throughout this site, for business partners, pricing teams, and marketing teams.
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Trustpilot Rating | A consumer review score on a 1 to 5 scale (5 = best). Trustpilot is a public review platform. Ratings are based on verified customer reviews. A score of 4.5+ is typically rated “Excellent.” Some companies (e.g. Post Office, Aviva) have a single Trustpilot profile covering their entire brand, not just travel insurance — these are labelled “Whole brand” in this site. |
| Defaqto Star Rating | An independent quality assessment by Defaqto, a UK financial product ratings agency. Products are rated 1 to 5 stars based on the breadth and quality of features. 5 stars means “an excellent product with a comprehensive range of features and benefits.” Most Tier 1 competitors hold 5-star ratings on their top policy tiers. It is an industry-standard benchmark used in marketing and regulatory fair value assessments. |
| Which? Best Buy | An award from Which?, the UK consumer rights organisation. Products are independently tested and compared. A “Best Buy” is given to the top-scoring products in their category. Typically fewer than 5 travel insurance products receive this in any given year. |
| FCA / FRN | The Financial Conduct Authority is the UK regulator for financial services including insurance. An FRN (Firm Reference Number) is a unique number on the FCA Register that identifies each authorised firm. You can verify any firm at register.fca.org.uk. |
| Underwriter | The insurance company that takes on the financial risk and pays claims. Many travel insurance brands are intermediaries (brokers or arrangers) — they sell the policy, but the underwriter stands behind it. Multiple brands can share the same underwriter, which means the underlying policy terms may be similar even though the branding and pricing differ. |
| Arranger vs Underwriter | Some policies are “arranged by” a company (often Gibraltar-based for regulatory reasons) and “administered by” another UK-based company, while the actual insurance risk is carried by the underwriter. For example, Staysure policies are arranged by TICORP (Gibraltar), administered by Howserv (UK), with the underwriter not publicly named on their website. |
| Excess | The amount the policyholder must pay towards any claim before the insurer pays the rest. For example, a £75 excess means the customer pays the first £75 of any claim. Lower excess = better for the customer but typically means higher premiums. Some top-tier policies offer £0 excess. |
| GWP (Gross Written Premium) | The total premium income received by insurers before deductions. Used as a measure of market size. The UK travel insurance market is estimated at approximately £1.7 billion GWP. |
| Medical Screening | The process by which a travel insurer assesses a customer’s pre-existing medical conditions to determine if they can be covered and at what price. Typically involves answering health questions online. The quality and speed of this screening process (“screening UX” or user experience) significantly affects conversion rates — a simpler, faster process loses fewer customers. |
| BIBA | The British Insurance Brokers’ Association. Membership indicates a broker meets professional standards. BIBA’s “medical directory” lists brokers with specialist expertise in covering pre-existing medical conditions. |
| ABI | The Association of British Insurers. The main trade body for the UK insurance sector. Publishes market statistics, industry reports, and aggregate data used for market sizing in this site. |
| Consumer Duty | An FCA regulation (effective July 2023) requiring firms to deliver good outcomes for retail customers. Includes requirements around fair value — firms must demonstrate their products offer reasonable value for the price charged. Market intelligence supports this by benchmarking against competitors. |
| Opportunity Score | A prioritisation score calculated as Impact (1-5) × Feasibility (1-5), giving a maximum score of 25. Impact reflects market size and revenue potential. Feasibility reflects how easily Holiday Extras could act (5 = messaging change, 1 = major product rebuild). Scores are assigned by analysts based on available evidence. |
| Tier 1 / 2 / 3 | Tier 1: Direct competitors most similar to Holiday Extras in product, distribution, and customer base — monitored most closely. Tier 2: Major market players with significant presence but different positioning or distribution. Tier 3: Niche specialists and smaller players, monitored quarterly. Tier assignment is based on analyst judgement of competitive overlap with HX. |
| Data Confidence | Verified: Data confirmed directly from the competitor’s public website or official public sources (Trustpilot, FCA register). Estimated: Data based on general market knowledge or secondary sources, not yet verified from the primary source. Estimated data should be treated as directional, not definitive. |
| Lloyd’s Syndicates | Lloyd’s of London is a specialist insurance market where multiple syndicates (groups of insurers) underwrite risks. Some travel insurance products, particularly for adventure or specialist cover, are underwritten by Lloyd’s syndicates rather than a single named insurer. |
How to Use This Site
For business partners and pricing teams
Focus on the Competitor Comparison table (Trustpilot vs HX column), Pricing Context (directional only — not quote data), and Competitor Profiles for policy tier details and age limits. Note that pricing bands are from public marketing materials and are directional, not definitive. Accurate pricing comparison requires licensed data (e.g. Defaqto).
For marketing teams
Focus on Messaging & Positioning (how competitors position vs HX), Ad Tracker (what competitors are saying in Google/Meta ads), Segment Snapshot (where HX is strong/weak), and Trends (search demand signals). The top opportunities section highlights where messaging changes could have the most impact.
For leadership and strategy
The Dashboard homepage gives the full picture — HX position, top insights, segment snapshot, and key opportunities. The PDF export generates a shareable report. Check the data freshness bar at the top of the dashboard to know how current the data is.