The majority of Canadians do little online comparison research when choosing financial products, according to a new survey from LowestRates.ca conducted by Ipsos.

While consumers frequently compare flights and hotels and other travel products online, most do not do the same for financial products such as car insurance, credit cards and mortgages. This leads to consumers overspending on such products, suggests the survey results.

"Thousands of dollars a year"

"The massive gulf between Canadians who compare travel options and financial products is disappointing. Because the latter is where you save real money," says Justin Thouin, CEO of LowestRates.ca. "Sure, you can save hundreds of dollars off your flight by using comparison sites, but taking the time to compare auto insurance or mortgages saves many of our users thousands of dollars a year — and those savings add up over decades."

Forty-five per cent of Albertans said they do a lot of research when it comes to choosing financial products, the highest rate in the country. Next was Ontario, with a rate of 41 per cent, followed by the Maritime provinces at 39 per cent, and Saskatchewan and Manitoba at 38 per cent. Next is Quebec, with 35 per cent of respondents saying they do a lot of research when choosing financial products, and then British-Columbia, with a rate of 31 per cent.

Millennials most likely to research financial products

The study found millennials are the most likely to do a lot of research when purchasing financial products, while baby boomers were the least likely.

"A few months ago, we found that many Canadians don't understand how common financial products work," says Thouin. "And this survey really hammers home that a large part of that is because Canadians can't be bothered. We need to make comparing financial products as common as comparing flights or hotels."