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Hi,
I've just had to insure a new vehicle, unfortunately it is just past the renewal date of our old vehicle that is being sold so I had to renew the old policy several weeks ago until we got the new vehicle. Having been given an original quote that was lower than the old one it has now increased hugely due to very slight changes to the vehicle ie it is a year younger - of course that would make it riskier!?
So to cancel that policy (£75) and go with another insurance company is cheaper than re-insuring with them. I bought my new policy this morning although the details on it weren't as I had entered when it came through and also not enough room to add on both myself and partners business use so to change it to the main business use only has apparently made increase of £70 to the policy! - furthermore to cancel it would be a £38 charge despite the fact I had taken out the policy 2 minutes earlier. These companies seem to get worse and worse every year with their ridiculous charges. Where or who would I complain too and would it make a blind bit of difference? It is all just a total scam and I can't believe that they get away with it.
Insurer will have a complaints procedure, when that is exhausted there is an ombudsman.
there's a 7 or 14 day cooling off period is there not?
Sorry missed those replies, yes there is a cooling off but it had gone over that - even still they charge around £38 if it is within that time which is also ridiculous in my opinion.
Anyway feeling quite empowered since I complained via the financial services authority and received an instant apology and reimbursement of the £75 fee. Personally think these insurance companies will eventually be regulated like the banks but it takes us, the public to point out what they are doing on a regular basis otherwise they just carry on. Daylight robbery in my humble opinion and I dread to think what happens if you try to make a claim.
"I dread to think what happens if you try to make a claim."
you shout alot , you get angry.
basically it seems to me that the most spurious but convincing sob story wins .......
ie - my cars stoved in from the passengers door to the back wheel from a side impact where a car pulled out - yet thats my fault.
Most bizarre strangequotery I got from one company was when my car was on deaths door near to renewal time, we were umming and ahhing about replacing it but since we liked it I was looking at another exactly the same car, same age (about 13 years old), same engine, even same colour, and when I put the old reg number in and said I'd owned it for 8 years it quoted me £X, put the reg number of the potential replacement car in and said 'just bought' it was £X + £300.
I was baffled, wondering if it was the registration or something, but no, turned out the be the length of ownership. If I said I'd owned the car for years the quote was cheap, if I'd just bought it, it sky rocketed, was most odd.
I can kind of understand the idea that if I'm a long term owner then perhaps more likely to look after the car and not drive into things? but it's a bizarre leap to say that if I went and bought another car of exactly the same spec and age that I would suddenly become a higher risk.
I was charged £62 for a simple change of address on my car insurance with Churchill a few years ago. That was just an admin charge, separate to a small change in the premium taking into account the impact of the new postcode.
I renewed an [u]annual[/u] travel holiday policy online a few years ago. When the documentation came through the policy was valid from 00:01 on 25/12/09 to just 00:02 on 25/12/09. In the end I had to take them to the ombudsman to get a refund.
Insurance company directors and the people who come up with their rules have to be pretty far up the queue for the pock-marked wall come the revolution.
Keep posting these charges perhaps, it may be a virtual wall 🙂
...or a flash mob, who's in? 😆
...or a flash mob, who's in?
What's wrong with a proper lynch mob?
Churchill tried to charge me a £50 admin fee when we moved. I threatened them with going to the ombudsman and they 'waived' the fee almost immediately. I think they know they are on dodgy ground with these admin fees but are determined to get away with it as long as possible.
My insurer (I forget who it is) allows unlimited free changes etc as its all done online (obviously the premium might change but there is no admin charge).
What's wrong with a proper lynch mob?
Will this work...who knows but Flamenco does it for me.
It's all powered by random nmber generators and magic 8 balls.
My renewal preium DROPPED by about 40% the year after my one and only claim (closed with me not being at fault, admittedly, but you'd think that someone making a claim would be a riskier proposition than someone who's never claimed?!)
Churchill tried to charge me a £50 admin fee when we moved. I threatened them with going to the ombudsman and they 'waived' the fee almost immediately
This is probably why: [url= http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/publications/technical_notes/QG1.pdf ]Financial Ombudsman Service Charges.[/url]
£550 per case referred to them after the first 25 cases? That would certainly make me capitulate pretty quickly.
My other half had a gentle bump in a carpark, so filled in the 'gentle bump in a carpark' form and sent it off. Rang up some time later to find out what was happening and was told that as they hadn't received the form they'd decided in favour of the other party and paid out.
She was furious - until renewal time when the premium dropped by 50%.
£550 per case referred to them after the first 25 cases?
Very interesting & they have to pay whatever the outcome! Good to know there is something to cover us out there and they can't argue out of that one! Thanks for the link.
Insurance companies - the institution of legitimate bureaucratic enslavement. 🙄
....but I was looking forward to dancing on the steps!
How were you obtaining your quotes?
Devils advocacy hat on...
The amount charged by insurers is regulated already.
People buy the cheapest product on price comparison websites, a lower up front price can be achieved by removing exceptional costs and if one company does that they all will to remain competitive.
Why should everyone pay for a few who make amendments.
...Devils hat off.
My advice would be read the small print on any contract you get into.
almost lol-chewkw
so if your insurer does something you are not happy about threat to complain to the Ombudsbloke.
Should like a plan.
"Why should everyone pay for the few who make amendments"?
Why should everyone pay for the few who drive like berks and make claims!
Moral of the story: get a quote for the car you are buying before you buy it.
sbob - MemberMoral of the story: get a quote for the car you are buying before you buy it.
I was quoted £2k to £2.5k when I bought my car with provisional license even when I have a foreign license for many years. 🙄
That will learn me.
So normally if your car was insured 'parked on street' you'd expect to be covered when parking on your drive right, as its less risky?
We went to change ours to 'parked on drive' the quote went up. Apparently there is a high incident of driveway related claims in our area (perhaps due to a lot of them being very steep)
So we left it as on street, but now wonder if perhaps they would quibble a claim over it being parked on the drive when its meant to be on street?!
chewkw - MemberI was quoted £2k to £2.5k when I bought my car with provisional license even when I have a foreign license for many years.
That will learn me.
A lot of new drivers get stung by not realizing that insurance after you have passed your test is normally considerably more than when you are learning (obviously having a tutor alongside you significantly decreases your chances of having a claim).
Where was your licence from? I take it was from outside the EU?
Moral of the story: get a quote for the car you are buying before you buy it.
I couldn't give them the exact details if I hadn't bought it yet but was enquiring on the price at first.
Why should everyone pay for a few who make amendments.
Just don't think anyone can justify £75 to cancel a policy and i.e. £50 as quoted above just to change an address.
I think you'll find it's the claimants rather than the insurers who are more likely to be fraudulent.
As someone has already mentioned, separate admin fees are symptomatic of premium competition. To think of it another way though, if you don't need any changes then you won't get charged, but if you do then only those making use of that change service will pay for it rather than every policyholder sharing it if it's included in a higher premium cost.
I hate them too! Just changed my 2 motorbikes for 1. Thats 2 policies with 2 different companies (I couldnt get a multibike policy with the existing one). Cancel one policy which was renewed in Nov, not a penny back. Change the other to cover my new bike, "Sorry, your new bike is not on the authorized route"??! Or something like that? Thats a GSXR sportsbike to a BMW Adventure bike. Right, so I have to cancel that policy (311 days left on it) and get a new pol. To go elsewhere I would be charged admin fee, leaving me with a refund of £43!! Thats after using the policy for 40 days or so 🙄
So basically I have to stay with them and take out a new policy. In fairness, the new policy is not too expensive, and I received £117 refund as I was staying with them.
Not sure its worth paying insurance in one lump sum (which I do). Possibly worth paying monthly.
- and dont get me started about NCB/claims and multiple policies!! (was 2 bikes and wifes car!)
Why should everyone pay for a few who make amendments.Just don't think anyone can justify £75 to cancel a policy and i.e. £50 as quoted above just to change an address.
Those seem high and don't get me wrong I don't particularly like it either but they do have justify them to the FCA before there charged.
Btw on the subject of using the ombudsman, they will expect anyone registering a complaint with them to have given the company an fair opportunity to have dealt with a complaint first.
sbob - MemberA lot of new drivers get stung by not realizing that insurance after you have passed your test is normally considerably more than when you are learning (obviously having a tutor alongside you significantly decreases your chances of having a claim).
Where was your licence from? I take it was from outside the EU?
Yes, outside of EU from North Borneo.
Now, after 3 years my insurance is at £645.45 fully comprehensive for Corolla 1.6 auto gear. 😯
Well, all I do is pay ...
I really can't see how a change of address can be justifiably £62. But I will never use Churchill again, that's for sure.
I would challenge that charge.
Im with a company from the same group as Churchill and the amendment fee is £16.
Not exactly fraudulent but renewal pricing boils my piss.
Do insurance companies not realise that comparison websites exist or are enough people too lazy to shop around that is worth them having a go at offering a renewal price that's a couple of hundred higher than it should be?
Just found out that my new insurer - the cheaper one is actually the exact same company albeit under another trading name!. Hoodlums!
richmtb - MemberNot exactly fraudulent but renewal pricing boils my piss.
All part of the business model.
You know that the amount of money raised by insurance premiums is actually less than the amount of money paid out in claims?