Large increase in people considering switching utility providers to save money

Consumers who said they are considering changing car insurance providers has jumped from 37% to 56%

The number of people who said they are now considering switching electricity or gas providers jumped to 58% from 42% last year. 

There has been a significant jump in the number of people willing to switch utility providers in order to get a better deal, a new report from PTSB has found. 

According to a survey in PTSB’s latest Reflecting Ireland report, 58% of consumers are considering switching electricity and/or gas providers this year in order to save money, up from 42% last year.

Similar trends were seen in people looking to switch their broadband, up from 37% to 53%, as well as those looking to switch TV providers, up from 28% to 45%, and those looking to switch mobile providers, up from 30% to 41%.

Consumers who said they are considering switching car insurance providers also jumped from 37% to 56%.

There were even increases recorded in the people considering switching their bank accounts with 25% saying they would switch their savings account, up from 14%, and 21% who said they would switch their current account, up from 10%.

In terms of people looking to save money, 75% of people surveyed said they save on a regularly basis In the event of a €1,000 windfall, 55% of people said they would choose to save while 16% said they would spend it on a holiday and 10% said they would share it with family or friends. A further 6% said they would go shopping.

Chief sustainability and corporate affairs officer at PTSB Leontia Fannin said the last few years have “been challenging for many” and now consumers are feeling “more confident that cost of living pressures are easing and the national economic picture is improving”.

That has also translated into a keen awareness of the need to get value for money from service providers, which is fuelling a big increase in the number of people considering shopping around for a better deal.

PTSB’s Reflecting Ireland research is conducted every quarter and is based on an online survey of 1,000 adults across Ireland.