Google reverses course with closure of car insurance service

Google is shifting into reverse and leaving behind a service that compares auto insurance prices.

The planned March 23 closure of "Google Compare" comes a year after the Internet search engine expanded the service in the U.S. to allow consumers to get quotes from a variety of auto insurers.

The service currently lists prices from 28 insurers.

Google Compare also allowed consumers in the U.S. and U.K. to look for the best deals on credit cards and mortgages.

Google told participating auto insurers and lenders in a letter that the comparison service didn't attract as much traffic as it anticipated.

The comparison service had spurred speculation that Google was laying the foundation to sell auto insurance itself, something that the Mountain View, California, company denied was in the works.