insurance rip off?

johnjojacko

I had van insurance with Gladiator Insurance.renewal date 25/03/09.
the cost was £280.40 fully comp.
Unfortunately due to loss of work i have had to sell my van and cancel the Insurance.
Gladiator Insurance have have allowed me a refund of £169.55.
days of cover = 23.
This means they have charged me, £115.85 for 23 days cover.

£280.40 / 365 12 MONTHS INSURANCE IS 76P PER DAY.
THIS WOULD BE £17.38 FOR 23 DAYS.

SO THEY ARE CHARGING ME £98.47 FOR ADMIN AND CANCELLATION CHARGES

£115.85 / 23 EQUATES TO £5.03 PER DAY. £1835.95 PER ANNUM.

Is this a a ripoff or am i being paranoid?
should i complain to the insurance ombudsman?
I have no problem with an admin fee but Come on £98.47!!:mad:

dunstonh

SO THEY ARE CHARGING ME £98.47 FOR ADMIN AND CANCELLATION CHARGES

The FOS has made it clear a number of times in upheld and rejected complaints that £50 is the level they feel is the maximum acceptable.

Is this a a ripoff or am i being paranoid?

No. You are jumping to a couple of conclusions but when you have the actual info it will be more understandable. You still wont like it but at least you will know the breakdown.

Chances are that the cancellation charge is anything up to £50. This is published and shouldnt be difficult for you to find. The rest will be insurance for the period of cover. However, that period will not be specific to the number of days but a rounded period. 23 days is likely to be rounded to something like 1-2 months (2 months being more likely).

The insurer or broker will be able to give you the split if you cant find it yourself.

should i complain to the insurance ombudsman?

If the actual cancellation charge is over £50 (not including cost of cover) or the cost of cover is longer than say 2 months then you should complain. Anything less than that then you are not likely to succeed based on rulings that have been made and published by the FOS in the past.