Being charged for change of address - what a liberty

dzug1

foggytown wrote: »

As you said before, you have never worked for an insurance company.

If additional staff are NOT required then the company is overstaffed over that which would be necessary if it didn't have to do this particular bit of admin.

The cost of the additional staff can be covered (and more, I am sure, but that's not the real issue) in two ways - spread over all customers, or charged to those who use the service. Or a combination.

davey001

Has anyone asked the insurance companies to give a written breakdown of their costs and a justification of them in the same way 1000's of people have done with the bank charges?

As i recall the banks first began to tell people it actually cost them £35 to send a letter but eventually we all found out it was closer to £2.

I would be interested in the insurance industries response to such a formal request for information and how much i suspect it may look like the indignant replies we had from the financial institutions a couple of years ago.

Just got rid of AutoTrader car insurance at renewal due to an increase of my premium from £144 to £180 (with no claims during that period.. or ever, in fact). Auto trader charged me £20 to send new documents when i moved a few months ago.

I went with Budget insurance today... after paying (yes yes i know.. after not before. Don't say it) ...i read the policy and they will sting me with £30 for change of address.

As i am hoping to move again soon (yes i am a bad bad person i know, for not staying put and wanting my old mum to have better healthcare in this area and to be closer to family for support) i am wondering if i made a mistake going with Budget Insurance. The savings i made shopping around are going to be wiped out by the admin charge for sending me a sheet of A4 paper with ink on it.

Expensive paper...

I think it reasonable to assume that if it costs a Bank £2 to send a letter and make adjustments to your information on file then it would cost a similar amount to a car insurance company.

dacouch

I hate to be the bearer of bad news but if you bought a policy from Budget they also arrange the policies for Autotrader

mjm3346

davey001 wrote: »

I think it reasonable to assume that if it costs a Bank £2 to send a letter and make adjustments to your information on file then it would cost a similar amount to a car insurance company.

Possibly but they are not just sending a letter they also have to consider the premium to charge for the new address and whatever profit they want to make on the transaction

This seems to cover it (special "services" includes change of address, adding driving convictions etc)-

"As of January 2008, administration charges and fees on car insurance policies are not regulated: in essence, insurers can charge anything they wish for the special 'services' above. The Financial Services Authority (FSA) previously included 'Excessive Charges to Retail Customers' within the Insurance Code of Business (ICOB). However, in January 2008, this document became the Insurance Code of Business Sourcebook (ICOBS) and the 'Excessive Charges to Retail Customers' section was removed

davey001

dacouch wrote: »

I hate to be the bearer of bad news but if you bought a policy from Budget they also arrange the policies for Autotrader

Yeah i noticed that too.

Still have cancellation rights though so i guess i can shop around (again).

davey001

mjm3346 wrote: »

Possibly but they are not just sending a letter they also have to consider the premium to charge for the new address and whatever profit they want to make on the transaction

This seems to cover it (special "services" includes change of address, adding driving convictions etc)-

"As of January 2008, administration charges and fees on car insurance policies are not regulated: in essence, insurers can charge anything they wish for the special 'services' above. The Financial Services Authority (FSA) previously included 'Excessive Charges to Retail Customers' within the Insurance Code of Business (ICOB). However, in January 2008, this document became the Insurance Code of Business Sourcebook (ICOBS) and the 'Excessive Charges to Retail Customers' section was removed

In other words big business gets away with what ever it pretty much feels like doing to the little guy.

davey001

davey001 wrote: »

Yeah i noticed that too.

Still have cancellation rights though so i guess i can shop around (again).

Nope.. forget i said that.. just read the policy (again) and Budget will hit me with a £38 fee for cancelling within 14 days.


Life just gets better and better doesn't it!

Dangermac

stator wrote: »

If you want to avoid these charges my recommendation would be to go with a direct insurer rather than a broken. I think 100% of brokers will charge a fee because they are only interested in selling policies, not providing customer service. Some direct insurers don't charge however I can't remember which ones. This year I've gone with a broker because I don't plan on moving or changing my car, if I did I would have checked some of the other cheap quotes to see if they charge.

I own an insurance brokerage and I can assure you that your comments are incorrect.

It might be worth commenting only on subjects which you have a proper grip, to avoid you looking just a little silly.

You say that brokers are only interested in selling policies. Whiulst the broking world isnt without issues, I would say that many brokers work very hard for their clients.

Have a look at some of the threads on this website, and I think you will agree that the main gripes are: lack of service and issues with claims, mainly in respect of direct insurers

With this in mind, maybe cheapest isnt best, and its worth paying a little more for a quality insurer and/or broker.

cogito

mjm3346 wrote: »

Possibly but they are not just sending a letter they also have to consider the premium to charge for the new address and whatever profit they want to make on the transaction

This seems to cover it (special "services" includes change of address, adding driving convictions etc)-

"As of January 2008, administration charges and fees on car insurance policies are not regulated: in essence, insurers can charge anything they wish for the special 'services' above. The Financial Services Authority (FSA) previously included 'Excessive Charges to Retail Customers' within the Insurance Code of Business (ICOB). However, in January 2008, this document became the Insurance Code of Business Sourcebook (ICOBS) and the 'Excessive Charges to Retail Customers' section was removed

Whatever happened to 'Treating Customers Fairly'? The Financially Supine Authority has simply allowed insurers to rip off their customers without fear of any sort of redress.

stator

Dangermac wrote: »

I own an insurance brokerage and I can assure you that your comments are incorrect.

It might be worth commenting only on subjects which you have a proper grip, to avoid you looking just a little silly.

You say that brokers are only interested in selling policies. Whiulst the broking world isnt without issues, I would say that many brokers work very hard for their clients.

Have a look at some of the threads on this website, and I think you will agree that the main gripes are: lack of service and issues with claims, mainly in respect of direct insurers

With this in mind, maybe cheapest isnt best, and its worth paying a little more for a quality insurer and/or broker.

Well you would say that, wouldn't you.

In my experience direct insurers are a lot better than brokers and provide a better customer experience. Brokers are always trying to upsell on you, trying to get you to take policies you have never expressed an interest in. Trying to force you to take their rip off legal protection or an extra policy to cover your gadgets. When I take out direct insurance policy I don't get the same nonsense. If I de-select legal protection I don't get phone calls trying to make me feel like an idiot for not taking it out.
I consider brokers to be like agents. They don't add any value, they just insert themselves between two people and charge a fee for letting them do business with each other.