Hot on the heels of news that the City watchdog is to introduce an independent price comparison service, the battle for custom among Britain’s wealth of aggregator sites has taken a different turn. Confused.com, which compares car and home insurance, has unveiled plans to make someone in the UK an instant millionaire: anyone visiting the Web site over the next few months for a quote will be entered into a prize draw for the chance to win a cool million pounds tax-free.

Unlike other price comparison services, which earn commission on quotes or “click-throughs”, Confused operates a cost-per-sale model, so it only receives commission from insurers when someone actually buys a product.

Debra Williams, managing director of the company, which is owned by insurer Admiral, stresses its altruistic properties. “Confused.com has saved millions of people time and money when it comes to searching for insurance,” she says. “The belief that price comparison services are beneficial to consumers forms the basis of this radical one million pound giveaway. We aim to appeal to the unconverted — those who rarely change providers, or rarely use the Internet — and show them how much time and money they could save as a result of quoting online.”

The aim too, of course, is to drive traffic to the site and generate the sales that will earn it commission. But those looking to renew their car or home insurance could do far worse than taking a trip to Confused.com. Some 30 percent of consumers typically renew their car insurance without shopping around for cover.