Admin Charges by Car Insurers

MarkyMarkD

I think that BestAdviceUK has a point here.

These forums are full of people moaning about various admin charges, cancellation charges, foreign use charges, levied by insurers. An ideal way for people NOT to be surprised by these things is for them to be able to compare them between insurers before making their initial decision.

It's all very well to say that people can see these once they've made their initial price-based choice, as Lisy suggests, but it doesn't work very well because many insurers make it less than straightforward to find out what their charges are.

Arguably having all that information in one place is well worth £2.

But equally well BestAdviceUK would do very well to understand quidco and other companies' cashback arrangements and to incorporate them into their comparative tables. Perhaps the reluctance to do so is because click-through income is a key part of BestAdviceUK's business strategy?

To be frank, if that is the case, nobody on MSE is going to think it worth spending £2 in order to lose £120 of potential Quidco cashback.

BestAdviceUk

MarkyMarkD wrote: »

I think that BestAdviceUK has a point here.

These forums are full of people moaning about various admin charges, cancellation charges, foreign use charges, levied by insurers. An ideal way for people NOT to be surprised by these things is for them to be able to compare them between insurers before making their initial decision.

It's all very well to say that people can see these once they've made their initial price-based choice, as Lisy suggests, but it doesn't work very well because many insurers make it less than straightforward to find out what their charges are.

Arguably having all that information in one place is well worth £2.

But equally well BestAdviceUK would do very well to understand quidco and other companies' cashback arrangements and to incorporate them into their comparative tables. Perhaps the reluctance to do so is because click-through income is a key part of BestAdviceUK's business strategy?

To be frank, if that is the case, nobody on MSE is going to think it worth spending £2 in order to lose £120 of potential Quidco cashback.

Dear MarkyMark

Thank you for understanding the concept of the Guide and agreeing that it would benefit consumers in their purchasing of insurance. As mentioned previously, I will inform you when it is available to view on-line.

Regarding 'clickthroughs,' one of the reasons we are charging for the information contained within the Guide is because it is our strict rule that in order to remain totally independent, we will not allow motor insurance companies or brokers to advertise within the Guide and we will not receive any income whatsoever for clickthroughs. Our only income on this site will be from our clients. It is important that we remain totally independent so we can offer a totally unbiased view on insurance companies and their practices.

As explained, I'm not an expert when it comes to 'cash back' schemes but I take on board your comments and will make it my business to educate myself as to how they work and which are successful and favoured by the general public.


Thank you for allowing me to explain this to you. Kind regards.

skyler_2

After reading about www.matthewsguide.co.uk on the forum I mentioned the site to my father-in-law as his car insurance is due for renewal in December. He has just been ripped off by Autosure for a £50 admin charge and he was so disgusted that he was very interested in The Matthews Guide to check on which insurers are charging what for their admin charges before he takes out his insurance for the next 12 months.

The Guide clearly shows the ridiculous fees being charged by insurers. I accept that there has to be an administration charge to cover the overheads for the staff etc. who have to carry out the amendments but they are having a laugh. My father-in-law phoned me to thank me and to tell me that they also currently have an offer on, where each person that pays the £1.99 access fee for the priviledged information area receives a free Legal Protection policy, we paid £25 for our legal protection policy last year!

I had a look at the site myself and the offer is valid until the end of December. As my insurance is not due untill mid January I called the contact number given, to ask if the offer is likely to be repeated and was told that the Legal Protection Policy can start at any time that I specify as long as the access fee is paid before the end of offer date.

Both my father-on-law and I agree that for £1.99 this is great value for money as it gives you an opportunity to see who's charging what, as well as lots of other useful info and also allows you to buy a 12 month Legal Protection for £1.99. I can only say good things about this guide. It's great that there are people out there who are willing to expose these ridiculous charges.

brownbabygirl

BestAdviceUk wrote: »

Hello

You would be in breach of the Copyright rules, so it would not be adviseable to do this.

i WILL REHASH IT IN MY OWN WORDS:D:D:D

dunstonh

With the FSA not recognosing the term independent with general insurance, why do you have "independent insurance advice" in your signature?

A financial promotion should not misrepresent what or who you are. Having been victim to an internet busy body idiot in the past who reported a thread to the regulator you need to make sure you dont fall foul of the rules as you currently appear to be.

lisyloo

Thanks for letting us know about it skyler but if you FIL thinks he's been ripped off the why not also pu in a formal complaint.
If people complain en-masse then companies DO change their policies.
It costs them money to answer your letters and costs them money (around £350) every time someone takes a complaint to the ombudsman.
Clearly this isn't worth their while and they are likely to give in, in most cases.
If enough people take action then this can change (think of it as partly altruistic).

bear in mind of course that there are a whole raft of costs that companies have (like pension, employers liability insurance, employers national insurance, software, hardware etc.) but if you think you can make a case then I would really encourage you/him to do it.
Not just for your own but for everyone else's as well.
I genuinely believe that companies do change their policies as a result of this type of action (if enough people do it).
If you want an example then I'd say illegal bank charges.

anewman

Insurance_Advice wrote: »

We save the average motorist £100. Also the £1.99 subscription charge qualifies users to a free legal protection. Who can say that this isn't a good offer.

I can look around myself without spending £1.99. What does the "legal protection" protect you against exactly, how much will it pay out and under what circumstances? Do I get my £1.99 back if you've wasted my time and I found cheaper elsewhere?!

skyler_2

Click on www.matthewsguide.co.uk. It tells you all about it there. You have to subscribe to the members area to receive the legal prot for £1.99. It's a special offer on 'til end of Dec.

lisyloo

Who can say that this isn't a good offer?

Well I would (for me).
I got my legal protection for free adn I'm resourceful enough to find out about admin charges for myself.

For people who don't want to do the legwork then I'd say that £1.99 is good value, but many of us moneysavers can look things up on the net for ourselves for free.

Not criticising what you are doing, just saying that it's not necessary for everybody.
I agree that for the majority it could be useful however I would prefer to see less "advertising" of it.
I think moneysavers have now been made aware of it, do we now need to repeat it's virtues in every post?