Would you like auto insurance with your web search?

That’s the question Google Inc. users in the United States may be facing later this year with one analyst predicting Google is about to get into the auto insurance business.

Ellen Carney at Forrester is predicting the move, noting that the Mountview based search giant has been talking to insurance companies for years about doing an insurance comparison site, a service Google already provides in the United Kingdom.

The new service, to be called Google Compare Auto Insurance Services Inc. has been licensed to sell insurance in 26 states. Along with its native California, the service is licensed to do business in Alaska, Arkansas, Arizona, Delaware, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, New Jersey, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming, with possibly more states coming on line in future.

Insurance companies currently signed to the service include Dairyland, MetLife, Mercury, Permanent General Assurance, Viking Insurance of Wisconsin and Workmen’s, with Carney noting other companies may be sitting and waiting to see how the service works once it goes live before joining.

Although speculation only at this stage, Carney suggests that Google may be considering the acquisition of existing insurance comparison service CoverHound Inc. as a way to give it increase exposure to the national insurance market.

The only real question remaining is when; Carney thinks it may be California soon, with Illinois, Pennsylvania, and Texas to follow in the first quarter.

The introduction of Google into the insurance marketplace would provide a threat to existing players, but it’s unlikely to be a market changer versus simply a new source a revenue for the Mountain View based search giant.

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