Google in past years has begun to expand beyond its home turf of Internet search and advertising, seeking to extend its technological dominance to fields as diverse as self-driving cars and robotics.

Google has recently formed a partnership CompareNow.com, which operates like the Kayak travel site only for auto insurance, while it’s also apparently now licensed to sell insurance in more than half of the states in the country. The site was expected to be launched last month in California to be likely followed in the first quarter of this year in Illinois, Pennsylvania, and Texas. Google has run an automotive insurance comparison site in the UK for a couple of years now— but it has clearly been pursuing something in the U.S., too. They are looking to acquire an insurance shopping site in San Francisco to give it a head start. With the new launch of the Google Car it only makes sense that Google would want to offer insurance!

The moves suggest the search giant wants to offer similar services in the U.S., potentially displacing existing middlemen, as it has done in shopping and travel. Google provides its own product-search tools on the Google Shopping website, and increasingly offers specialized flight and hotel booking tools.

Google is also authorized to do business on behalf of insurers like Dairyland, MetLife, Mercury, Permanent General Assurance, Viking Insurance of Wisconsin and Workmen’s. Right now Google will not make any official comment. Stay tuned to this blog spot for more info and as always DRIVE SAFE!!!