by David Philpott chairman of the Kent branch Institute of Directors

If you have ever tried to buy motor insurance over the internet you will already know that it is virtually impossible to do so without the need to speak to somebody on the telephone at some point in the transaction.

This is because you will inevitably come to a stage in the online process where you will either be directed to pick up the phone, or you will be asked to leave your number so that someone can contact you. And then there is the footprint you leave behind in the process of researching options. Phone number, email address. And we all know what they do with that.

The other evening, I decided to sit up and pay attention to the ads on telly that purported to be able to save me money on car insurance. The first thing to say is that there was not a single ad break when one or other of the protagonists was not in my face.

If I had been seriously looking, I fear the directive to "Go Compare" - complete with the Welsh opera singer - would have left me "Confused dot com," notwithstanding the promise of 12 months cover for the price of nine, "because we don't use comparison websites."

Oh David, you are so Money Supermarket - I thought to myself as I wondered what had happened to those Sheila's Wheels ads we used to see all the time.

I know, I know, I am sounding like a grumpy old man, but there is a point to all this. Considering the hoops one has to go through to save a few measly quid on car insurance by shopping around - online or otherwise - why do people do it? I think the answer is blindingly obvious, but perhaps so obvious that some of us have been missing it.

The brutal truth is that a few measly quid is making a massive difference to ordinary people as they seek to maintain some kind of standard of living in our debt-laden, wage-frozen, inflation-rising country.

As Mr Cameron so eloquently put it recently "whereas families used to fill up the car at the petrol station, now they can only afford half a tank." Tesco gets it. It is slashing food prices in the face of changing shopping habits. They are worried, it seems, because middle class families have discovered the wonderful world that is Lidl and Aldi.

Over the next couple of years, the Coalition Government will be introducing legislation that will make it unlawful for employers to encourage staff to opt out of stakeholder pension schemes.

Aware of the ticking time bomb that is the fusion of an aging population and no money to fund their retirements, the hope is that people will sort things out for themselves.

It is just another brick in the crumbling edifice of the guaranteed state retirement pension. Sadly, I fear that most of the people at whom this is aimed will not be able to afford to partake - unless of course they get a free Compare the market Meerkat for opting in.