Car insurance admin fee

juehankie

after many years with no car insurance my husband had a quote from Adrian flux. he quote was £765 the best we could get as he had no years cover. (only bikes and named on policies). but to my dismay today when the paper work came through the "actual policy" is £168 less.

upon asking why we have been charged more. their response was:


The premium you pay goes to the insurance company. There are two ways that insurance companies pay us, as brokers, in both cases the amount you pay is exactly the same. The first way, the Insurer sets a premium which includes an amount of commission that is paid to us for setting up and administering the policy. For example; a policy premium that costs you £500 could include £75 commission, which the Insurer pays to us, the broker. The second way, the Insurer sets the premium at a lower figure without the commission and we, the broker, add a fee on top. For example; the same policy premium is set at £425 rather than £500 and we, the broker, add a £75 fee on top. [FONT=Arial,Arial][FONT=Arial,Arial]Why does the schedule show a lower amount than you paid? [/FONT][/FONT]Your insurance schedule is a document provided by your insurers, Trinity Lane, who transact business with us on a fee basis, as above, and so the premium shown is lower than the amount you have paid because it doesn't include our fee. We appreciate that this may seem confusing, so in our quotation letters, renewal invitations and other correspondence, we will clearly state the total amount payable along with the breakdown of the fees and charges. We also endeavour to make you aware of these charges when taking out a policy by telephone. We hope that this has clarified the situation but if you have any further queries, please do not hesitate to contact us.
I was NEVER informed by letter or telephone about any additional fees. infact the salesman stated there was NO way this policy could be reduced in any way.

your thoughts please I feel very misled

Quentin

How have you been "misled"? You were quoted the amount you paid. From what you say this is cheaper than you could find yourself.

If you want to cut out paying a broker DIY and go direct.

juehankie

Quentin wrote: »

How have you been "misled"? You were quoted the amount you paid. From what you say this is cheaper than you could find yourself.

If you want to cut out paying a broker DIY and go direct.

I feel misled because I wasn't told they were a broker and I was paying them a premium.

also, in their words "We also endeavour to make you aware of these charges when taking out a policy by telephone."

_Andy_

At what stage are you of the complaints procedure?

dauphin

If you were told simply that the premium was £765, then you were indeed misled. The actual premium was considerably less than that. The broker was acting as your agent and was intending to charge you a fee and therefore this should have been explained to you.
If it was not explained, you can certainly complain, but apart from being allowed to withdraw from the contact without penalty (which does not really help you if this was the best overall price obtainable anywhere) I am not sure this is going to get you very far.

juehankie

_Andy_ wrote: »

At what stage are you of the complaints procedure?

I have asked them to forward me proof of the telephone conversation. and have stated I was not made aware of ANY fees. I was infact told there was no way the policy could be reduced in any way. I couldn't remove any part of the policy to make it cheaper. the policy was at its lowest premium.

Quentin

juehankie wrote: »

I feel misled because I wasn't told they were a broker and I was paying them a premium.

also, in their words "We also endeavour to make you aware of these charges when taking out a policy by telephone."

In your OP you say you found the "best" premium with this broker (by best i assume you mean "cheapest"??). The price offered included their fee.

They haven't charged you any extra have they?

So where are your grounds for being "misled"?

dauphin

Quentin wrote: »

So where are your grounds for being "misled"?

The premium wasn't £765, it was £598. The rest was the broker's fee. As agent, the broker must disclose to the principal that he is proposing to charge him a fee and obtain his consent.

Quentin

dauphin wrote: »

The premium wasn't £765, it was £598. The rest was the broker's fee. As agent, the broker must disclose to the principal that he is proposing to charge him a fee and obtain his consent.

Looks like he did:

but to my dismay today when the paper work came through the "actual policy" is
£168 less.

Presumably by "actual policy" the OP means "premium".

But all this is a pointless exercise, the OP at best can get a result by complaining and a full refund.

And then have to pay more to get the same cover elsewhere!

Hardly a moneysaving exercise, whether or not the complaint results in a full refund.

juehankie

dauphin wrote: »

If you were told simply that the premium was £765, then you were indeed misled. The actual premium was considerably less than that. The broker was acting as your agent and was intending to charge you a fee and therefore this should have been explained to you.
If it was not explained, you can certainly complain, but apart from being allowed to withdraw from the contact without penalty (which does not really help you if this was the best overall price obtainable anywhere) I am not sure this is going to get you very far.

thanks, is this really the only option?.. full refund and go elsewhere?... seems harsh..

juehankie

dauphin wrote: »

The premium wasn't £765, it was £598. The rest was the broker's fee. As agent, the broker must disclose to the principal that he is proposing to charge him a fee and obtain his consent.

yes.. correct at no point was I informed of any fees. they said the premium was £765 with no room to reduce.