In my Opinion a Rip Off

tesuhoha

We have recently moved house and I have been informing companies we deal with of our change of address. I wrote the change of address letter to my husband's Commercial Van Insurance Company and they have written back and said that there is a £20 admin charge for this and if we dont pay it then he wont be insured. Does anyone know if this is usual?

kiwigirl

I think it's pretty standard from what insurances I've had. I had the choice to keep my mother on my insurance or take her off it, it would cost more to put her on it again if she ever wanted to use it as my company ask's £15 for admin charges changes.

Mikeyorks

Unfortunately it's getting increasingly frequent. And it appears to be mainly the Insce companies in the lead on this new money spinning scam.

They would protest they are merely recouping the costs of having to issue revised paperwork. But I bet it was factored into their bottom line previously that there would be churn in this area? And they haven't discounted other policies where there are no in-year revises?

Perhaps we should be grateful the utilities / Banks / DVLA / HMRC et al - aren't yet on the bandwagon?:rolleyes:

dunstonh

It tends only to be motor insurance. Often the increase is down to post code change although some may have an admin fee.

As mentioned earlier in another thread, many motor insurers operate on a tiny margin or are loss making. The trend over the last 5 years or so has been to reduce the cost of the annual premium but charge admin fees for services instead.

Its consumer driven and quite acceptable. If you want an insurer that doesnt charge admin fees then you should choose one or ask a broker.

mattymoo

Mikeyorks wrote:

Perhaps we should be grateful the utilities / Banks / DVLA / HMRC et al - aren't yet on the bandwagon?:rolleyes:

Not quite - The Passport Office will charge you the full renewal fee for a name change following marriage.

dougk_2

I believe the DVLA has been thinking abouth charging for registering a vehicle change and it was originally talked about chargingif you SORN a vehicle.

I'm sure it won't be long before you get charged a fee for a replacement driving licence for a change of address.

mrcow

dunstonh wrote:

It tends only to be motor insurance. Often the increase is down to post code change although some may have an admin fee.

What are the odds of being offered a discount if you move to a lower risk area?

320 is v. annoying especially if it's a new charge that they are all bringing in now, but in terms of moving costs, it is just a drop in the ocean I guess!

Hope you're enjoying your new home.

Astaroth

These are not new charges, all that has changed is that when the FSA ICOB rules came in it made insurers have to declare what the split is between admin and premiums where as previously insurers were charging these fees but simply calling it all "additional premium"

I know that I received a discount when I last moved... and my insurance isnt with my employers so it isnt preferential treatment.

tim_n

I moved house with my non-commercial insurance and was told to pay a £20 fee. Argued a bit, they dropped it = )

Just be nice and tell them something along the lines of 'well I'm thinking of changing insurers because we've been offered x cheaper elsewhere and they won't charge another £20 to open a new policy...'