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Price comparison sites have taken off in the UK with 19 million Brits – two in five – logging on to find the best deal on financial products.

A report from Mintel shows men are more likely to go online to sort out their finances with 41 per cent using a comparison site, but women are not far behind, with 36 per cent of women using the service.

Insurance is the most popular search, with two-thirds (65 per cent) of price comparison site users looking for motor insurance, while one in four has searched for home (26 per cent) and travel insurance (24 per cent).

"Although price comparison sites have not actually been around for that long, they have now become an essential part of the buying process for many people looking to renew their insurance," said Toby Clark, head of financial research at Mintel.

"Extensive advertising campaigns have undoubtedly played a huge part in growing public interest in these sites.

"And in the coming months they are only likely to see their popularity grow as people tighten their belts and become ever more price-conscious."

Although price may be the main driver for the boom, people are becoming more aware of the need to compare like for like and look at the benefits as well as the price, Mintel said.

While 67 per cent of those using these sites look for the cheapest price, 61 per cent look for comprehensive cover.

And one in five (22 per cent) already say that they prefer to compare product specifics, as opposed to just price.

There are over 40 price comparison sites available on the market, with the top three listed as moneysupermarket.com (55 per cent), confused.com (53 per cent) and gocompare.com (29 per cent).