Admin charges??

kneller

My car insurance company is trying to charge me £20 to amend the address on my policy. The policy states that they 'reserve the right' to charge an admin fee. As this seems excessive, do I have to pay it, and if I do, can I first request a breakdown of that cost?
Any advice appreciated.

Andy_L

Yes and yes, although they do not have to give you a breakdown.

dunstonh

As has been said before (almost a couple of times a week recently). Admin fees have become more common because the premium on insurance has come down. Also, there is more disclosure about the fee than in the past.

kneller

Thanks for the advice. I guess I will have to reluctantly pay despite the punative charge for 10 seconds work.:mad:

MarkyMarkD

As dunstonh says, it's the price we pay for the increased competition in insurance which means that insurers make virtually no profit on the basic insurance policy.

dunstonh

Car insurance has been loss making for some years now.

A number of companies have tried to set up brand names and advertise heavily in the hope that the big guns will come in and buy them up and the owners make a profit from that. To achieve this, that means selling the product at a loss.

Norwich Union have taken the decision to stop selling at a loss and have increased premiums. They are doing it in the hope that others will follow. Only time will tell. Last time NU did something like that (it was on pensions), they backed down after a period as they were losing market share and shareholders like market share.