Anyone had similar problems with Admiral?

squ1rrel5

I received an email from Admiral Insurance earlier 'thanking' me for my changes to my policy which I took out last month, however I was a bit surprised as I hadnt actually made any!

The email stated that there was a discrepancy with my details and they had now added on the modification that I hadnt told them about and £250.00 was being added onto my current policy, plus any administration charges.

The modification in question was a set of alloy wheels which had been on my car previously - when I called them Admiral said that they had found the details on a previous quote and automatically added them onto my policy. Only thing is, I havent had the alloys on my car for approx 9 months so any previous quote would have dated back to August 2011!

I have hopefully sorted the situation now over the phone but surely this is pretty unreasonable behaviour from Admiral to add this on without any consultation? The reason I was given was that a lot of people try to get cheaper car insurance by not declaring these details but why tar every one with the same brush!
We all sign a declaration when taking out insurance to say that all given details are correct so surely if i'm in an accident and I try and claim but I've given wrong information, then they just dont pay up and its all my fault for giving false information at the time??


I could understand if I'd submitted a quote the week earlier with different details on but all quotes I'd submitted in August had no modifications on as like I said earlier, I had removed them 9 months previously!! I think its pretty disgusting that they would pick up on another quote from 12 months previously and use the details from that without speaking to me first.

Call me cynical but this 'sneaky' tactic by Admiral may net them a little bit more money if there are policy holders out there that arent quite so vigilant with their details.

Although my individual issue has now been rectified, I still feel angry about the way that this company works? Surely it is illegal to take money without consultation? Is it worth a letter to the company/ombudsman to complain?

InsideInsurance

So does your car have anything that isnt the basic manufacturers specification or not?

If it does, did you declare it or not on the quote that you accepted?

If you do indeed have non standard alloys and did falsely declare that you didnt have them then arguably you are lucky that they have simply adjusted the premium and charged the admin fee rather than voiding the policy for intentional non-disclosure leaving you fairly close to being uninsurable for any personal lines policy in the future other than with the sub prime providers

Insurers always include terms in their policy for continuous payment authority thus allowing them to take additional future funds from the payment means should these types of issues occur

squ1rrel5

Thanks for your response Inside...

No, the reason I am posting is that I do not have any modifications on my car at all - it is all manufacturer standard and this was what my current policy was based on when I got a quote last month, having submitted an online application and confirmed all these details over the phone. The policy documents I received a few days later confirmed all this.

The amendment on my policy has been made this morning by Admiral themselves. (but as I said I 'hope' I have now done enough to sort it out - will need to wait for the confirmation to come through)

I did have non standard alloys on in 2011 - removed in January this year - so as I was saying this would have been found on a previous quote submitted to admiral from aug 2011 when they were on the car - from August 11 to Aug 12 I was with a different insurer but got a re-quote from Admiral this year through an online comparison site - with all the correct details from my present situation.

The details declared on the accepted quote were all true.
A month later Admiral have altered it to include information I can only assume was from a quote that was over 12 months old - without consultation which is the bit I am struggling to agree with!

InsideInsurance

Most insurers will write before actually making the change, which I think is better practice but then they risk customers cancelling payment authority with their banks and everything gets messy.

I think on the balance of probablity the majority of people that make a modification their vehicle dont then back it out at a later date - especially as the majority of modifications are things like metallic paint or leather seats etc

vaio

Sounds like standard practice in the insurance industry....try it on, refund the 20% that challenge it and bonuses all round with the 80% that "suck it up"

I'd expect a letter saying the cost has now gone up by £500 because you've changed the wheels twice so are now a "serial modifier"

squ1rrel5

I've now had an email back from them saying the modification has been removed and the £27.00 will not be charged to my account...

£27.00!!! What happened to the £250.00 you were trying to charge me yesterday???? And lo and behold I check my new policy document and it still says that I have Alloy Wheels!!

I am now writing them a letter asking for proper written confirmation of the charges not being applied and to get a new copy of my policy with the modifications taken off!!!

I will get there in the end...

I would really like to change insurers as I've never had this much trouble with anyone else but then they'll probably charge me for cancelling a month in - roll on 2013!! :rotfl: