Being charged £37.10 admin fee to cancel my home insurance policy. Is this common?

Tabloid24

My home insurance is due at the end of the month. Having shopped around to get a better deal on my buildings and contents insurance have now discovered that Privilege insurance have slapped on a £37.10 admin fee to cancel the policy.

Is this a common practise - it compromises the savings I'll make by leaving them.

Any advice gratefully received.

Many thanks

oldbaldman

Let the current policy run to the end of term, then insure elsewhere.

obm

Tabloid24

Thank you - I would agree but when they phoned to chase the renewal they said if I didn't renew with them I would have to pay £37.10. Think I'll call them again tomorrow to check the guy I spoke to got it right. It says on the renewal notice it will be charged if I cancel - hoping this is different to simply not being renewed.

agrinnall

Yes it is common, and the FOS has confirmed that admin fees up to (I think) £50 are allowed. Having been stung for a £25 fee on change of address on a car policy I now check what admin fees might be charged before I take out a new policy.

But in your case it seems pointless to pay an admin fee when the policy only has a few days to run and it'll cost you nothing to walk away from it (but make sure it's not going to auto-renew, or if it is tell them that you want it to lapse).

Edit: Cross posted with your update, they're talking nonsense, ring them up and insist you will not be renewing and you will not be paying a fee.

aggypanthus

Tabloid24 wrote: »

Thank you - I would agree but when they phoned to chase the renewal they said if I didn't renew with them I would have to pay £37.10. Think I'll call them again tomorrow to check the guy I spoke to got it right. It says on the renewal notice it will be charged if I cancel - hoping this is different to simply not being renewed.

I think he was stretching the truth to keep you.
I renewd today with last yrs company
but he did say if I cancelled within the 14 day coolling off, it would cost me £40
maybe you misheard? I had to ask twice

trukdiver

Tabloid24 wrote: »

My home insurance is due at the end of the month. Having shopped around to get a better deal on my buildings and contents insurance have now discovered that Privilege insurance have slapped on a £37.10 admin fee to cancel the policy.

Is this a common practise - it compromises the savings I'll make by leaving them.

Any advice gratefully received.

Many thanks

I was insured with Churchill, which is part of the same group. I was able to lapse it without charge.

A cancellation charge is common for terminating a policy before it expires, but t's unusual to be charged to not renewing!

hop3y

Tabloid24 wrote: »

Thank you - I would agree but when they phoned to chase the renewal they said if I didn't renew with them I would have to pay £37.10. Think I'll call them again tomorrow to check the guy I spoke to got it right. It says on the renewal notice it will be charged if I cancel - hoping this is different to simply not being renewed.

The company are not allowed to charge anything if you lapse the policy and don't renew. By the looks of it they are being a little naughty and cancelling the policy rather than not renewing it.

Email them and tell them you want your policy to lapse. If they renew it or try to charge you, create a complaint and if they still try and charge you take it to the FOS as this is not allowed.

dunstonh

It is important to not mix up the term "cancel" with "do not renew". A cancellation charge is made when you cancel. There is no charge made when you do not renew.

Quentin

dunstonh wrote: »

It is important to not mix up the term "cancel" with "do not renew". A cancellation charge is made when you cancel. There is no charge made when you do not renew.

It's more important for insurance companies not to lie to try and make customers stay with them!


The OP hasn't mixed up any terms here.

Tabloid24 wrote:

they said if I didn't renew with them I would have to pay £37.10.

InsideInsurance

Quentin wrote: »

It's more important for insurance companies not to lie to try and make customers stay with them!


The OP hasn't mixed up any terms here.

Unfortunately users here mix up terms when they dont realise the difference. So calls the insurer saying they want to cancel but then reports on here saying about lapsing.

On the basis staff arent incentivised on sales anymore but will get into trouble with internal audit for giving false information what motive does a customer service person have to lying? Of cause there can be training issues and then it comes down to a question of if its more likely that an insurance agent has not understood their training or if a customer hasnt understood the conversation. Both happen but the later is more common in my experience of dealing with complaints.

Quentin

No.

In this case the op received a call from his insurer to chase him to renew.

The reported conversation is the reason for the thread.

It is the incorrect use of "cancel" in the thread title which has lead the insurance brigade to come out blaming the op!