Ridiculous rise in pet insurance due to change of address

groovystef

I took a policy out with Ultimate Insurance Company Ltd for my 12yr old Bearded Collie X Border Collie Perry in July 2012 following on from a comparison search. I pay a monthly premium of £29.30. When I took this policy out I lived in the city of Chichester (West Sussex). Less than 2 weeks ago I moved 14 miles north to the village of Pulborough (still in West Sussex). When I contacted Ultimate to change my address not only did they say there would be a £10 fee to do so (which was not stated in my Policy) but that due to the change in address my monthly premium would rise to approximately £38 a month, an effective increase of £120 a year! When asked to justify this hike they could not give a reason & stated that it was down to the underwriters. I was refered to the manager who still could not explain or tell me where in the policy document that it stated that changing an address could incur such charges (because it doesn't!). Since my conversation I have written an email both to the manager I spoke to on the phone & Ultimate's complaints department disputing both their charges & stating that if they couldn't show me where these charges were clearly set-out in the policy document then I expected either for my policy to continue at the current monthly premium & the £10 admin charge to be waivered, or for the policy to be cancelled with immediate effect & no further charges encountered. This was a week ago & I have heard nothing, not even an ackowledgement of my email. Not sure where to go now. I would prefer not to deal with such a shoddy company anymore & would rather pay a higher monthly premium elsewhere than even my current rate with Ultimate. I feel that they are using my dogs age to their advantage, even though I have not had any claims for 7 years (& that was a one off following an accident) & he has no pre-existing or current conditions. I have also used several other pet insurance companies since I rescued him (10 & a half years ago) & have also moved several times, including places in London, & have never encountered either the admin fee or rise in my monthly premium simply for changing my address! Am I able to cancel my policy with them without incurring any further charges & take one out with someone else? Is the postcode lottery becoming commonplace with pet insurance now? :mad:

InsideInsurance

Certainly postcode can impact the premiums for pet insurance due to varying vet fees, the different risks between urban and rural areas, fraud risks etc. You wouldnt imagine that the effects are as big as with Home or Car but certainly could expect some.

An insurer or broker certainly wouldnt need to tell you in advance that if you change anything in the future that it may impact your premiums, thats a basic tenet of insurance and believed to be understood by people.

Any administration fee for making a change would need to be in the terms and conditions however. This could be the policy book but is more likely to be in the schedule or other documents you received when the policy was taken out. If its not there then they cant charge it basically.

rs65

groovystef wrote: »

where in the policy document that it stated that changing an address could incur such charges (because it doesn't!)

Policy documents never state that. A policy is rated on info given at inception. If you change any details it can be rerated at that time.

£10 is a very reasonable admin charge.

What does your policy say about cancelling mid-term?