Admiral Charging extra for Immobiliser

naeemsyed

Hello All

I recently bought a new car. I rang Admiral to add the vehicle to my existing policy (convertfrom single to multi car). During the question session over the phone, the Sales Staff asked me if the new car had an immobiliser and alarm. I said I wasn’t sure and would need to check, so the sale staff proceeded with entering NO IMMBOLISER and at the end gave me a quote and insured me.

Next day I got in touch with the car dealer who told me that the car had a manufactures alarm and immobiliser fitted as standard. So I again rang Admiral to inform them of this. They ran the quote again and this time charged me £10.99 extra. I asked them that an immobiliser and alarm should reduce the risk of the car getting stolen so the premium should go down. The sale staff told me that because some cars have a higher risk of theft, that’s why the manufactures have alarms and immobilisers fitted in them. I mentioned that all new cars have alarms and immobiliser fitted. But the sale staff kept on repeating the same rhetoric.

My query is that, I find this strange. Shouldn’t these security measures by the manufactures on a car help in reducing premiums?

Your views please, and can I complain.

Quentin

Nothing to stop you complaining.

But don't believe everything an insurance company says over the phone!

It may be that your premium did reduce, but that you were charged an admin fee for making the change. (The reduction in the premium reducing the admin charge)

Do dummy quotes online to find out if immobiliser makes any difference to the premium, then take it from there.

dacouch

Admiral do make me laugh.

InsideInsurance

Personally I would ask if the fee is actually an administration charge or actually a change in premium. My guess is that it is the former.

Generally manufacturer fitted devices are not a consideration for rating because every car of that model has them and so it is factored into the claims experience the insurer has anyway. Only after market ones are really of interest because they do vary the vehicles security from the standard for that make/ model/ mark

Unfortunately call centre people are not generally highly trained insurance experts and whilst they are given stock responses to most common questions there are always additional questions they wont know the answer to. A good person will say they dont know and offer to find out. A not so good one will make something up/ repeat hearsay etc rather than admit they dont know something. Shouldnt happen, audit pulls them up on it when caught, but it does happen

Captain_Shambolic

naeemsyed wrote: »

Hello All

I recently bought a new car. I rang Admiral to add the vehicle to my existing policy (convertfrom single to multi car). During the question session over the phone, the Sales Staff asked me if the new car had an immobiliser and alarm. I said I wasn’t sure and would need to check, so the sale staff proceeded with entering NO IMMBOLISER and at the end gave me a quote and insured me.

Next day I got in touch with the car dealer who told me that the car had a manufactures alarm and immobiliser fitted as standard. So I again rang Admiral to inform them of this. They ran the quote again and this time charged me £10.99 extra. I asked them that an immobiliser and alarm should reduce the risk of the car getting stolen so the premium should go down. The sale staff told me that because some cars have a higher risk of theft, that’s why the manufactures have alarms and immobilisers fitted in them. I mentioned that all new cars have alarms and immobiliser fitted. But the sale staff kept on repeating the same rhetoric.

My query is that, I find this strange. Shouldn’t these security measures by the manufactures on a car help in reducing premiums?

Your views please, and can I complain.

Can't say I've heard of an immobiliser adding risk so it could well be an admin fee. I would argue that the advisor took it upon his/herself to quote the vehicle without the immobiliser when the correct approach would have been to ask you to go and check (or IF there was a risk change, to advise you of the possibility of the risk changing if information turns out to be different) and so if the charge is an admin fee, to argue it should be waived. If it were me, for the sake of a £10.99 admin fee and given the circumstances I'd have waived it but I'm an advisor, so I'm given a lot more leeway to make those decisions, in Admiral's case it'd need manager consent methinks.

dacouch

I've heard that Admiral are toying with the idea of charging for cabin luggage

forgotmyname

It probably wasnt an extra charge for having it, It was extra for a change on the policy conditions.

Same as changing car or address. I would also be phoning and saying their system should know its got a factory fitted system.

And i want that money back..