MSE News: The devil is in the details: Insurers charge huge fees for simple changes

Former_MSE_Helen

Changing a name, address or job title, or cancelling an insurance policy completely, could result in costly admin fees ...

Read the full story:

The devil is in the details: Insurers charge huge fees for simple changes




Click reply below to discuss. If you haven’t already, join the forum to reply. If you aren’t sure how it all works, read our New to Forum? Intro Guide.

Rahven

We had a contents insurance policy with Swinton. It had 5 weeks left to run and we were moving house and they wanted to charge us substantial admin fees to change the address on the policy despite moving to a safer area. So we decided to cancel and take out a new policy for the new property. For a £55 policy with 5 weeks left to go, the cancellation fee was £50 which I think is disproportionate. I challenged it and eventually got the fee refunded.

rudekid48

Great. Another MSE 'expert' editor that doesn't understand the industry that they write about.

I wonder if MSE will write an article about the outrageous fees that price comparison sites charge when people buy a policy - over £50 per sale?

Doubtful, seeing as MSE is owned by Moneysupermarket.

Be careful what you wish for MSE. The vast majority of insurance brands charge explicit admin fees so that they can offer lower premiums to compete on your own comparison site, which you take a hefty chunk of money from.

The only conclusion to your campaign would be much higher premiums for all of us, to cover the costs of those that make changes.

Don't bite the hand that feeds you, or at least drop the pretence of neutrality and highlight the charges that your parent makes, which unlike admin fees are completely invisible to the consumer.

deutsch

"If you're looking for a new policy, see our Cheap Insurance section for help getting the best deal on everything from motor and home insurance to travel and medical cover."

It's not like aggregator websites compare and show you what the potential future fees are if you make a change or cancel.

A cheap annual premium based on no changes and no cancellations. That's how they operate.

kingstreet

It's likely to be someone in a call centre simply pressing a few buttons to carry out your request

True. However, if there's no contribution to the cost of cancellations/alterations infrastructure and staffing from the new business premium to get it to the top of the aggregator pages; the fee has to be set at a level which pays for the entire cancellations/alterations set-up.

A specific fee is a lot fairer than loading premiums where those who don't create this work still have to pay for it.

If you expect to have to alter or cancel a policy mid-year, pick a product with no alteration or cancellation fees. Your premium will be higher as a result.

User_101122

I've just called Tesco to change the address where the car is kept (not registered) as I've been posted from one RAF station to another, despite the deduction in risk and decrease in premium they wanted a £20 admin fee to do this.

I just point blank refused to pay it and told them it doesn't cost then £20 to type in my address and press enter.

The complete tool on the other end of the phone then said it was to cover their costs in contacting "rerelevant bodies" at which point I asked for the relevant bodies' telephone numbers and volunteered to do this myself thus removing the need for him to charge a fee.

I then got the standard terms and conditions tripe. About how I agreed to this when taking the policy out blah blah blah... Again I just said im not paying you £20. In the end he said he would change the address but wasn't waiving the fee and tesco would chase me for it.

Bring it on, if they're stupid enough incurr the costs of an ombudsman complaint made against them for the sake of £20, let them get on with it.

User_101122

I've just called Tesco to change the address where the car is kept (not registered) as I've been posted from one RAF station to another, despite the deduction in risk and decrease in premium they wanted a £20 admin fee to do this.

I just point blank refused to pay it and told them it doesn't cost then £20 to type in my address and press enter.

The complete tool on the other end of the phone then said it was to cover their costs in contacting "rerelevant bodies" at which point I asked for the relevant bodies' telephone numbers and volunteered to do this myself thus removing the need for him to charge a fee.

I then got the standard terms and conditions tripe. About how I agreed to this when taking the policy out blah blah blah... Again I just said im not paying you £20. In the end he said he would change the address but wasn't waiving the fee and tesco would chase me for it.

Bring it on, if they're stupid enough incurr the costs of an ombudsman complaint made against them for the sake of £20, let them get on with it.

wazza99

Changed my car Friday just gone, using Lloyds Car insurance on self service centre.....I DID THE CHANGE, I PRINT MY OWN DOCS !

£24 premium increase, £25 admin fee !!

Just read the article and called them to complain, instantly refunded the £25, result.:beer:

SimonSays

tight4rse wrote: »

I've just called Tesco to change the address where the car is kept (not registered) as I've been posted from one RAF station to another, despite the deduction in risk and decrease in premium they wanted a £20 admin fee to do this.

I just point blank refused to pay it and told them it doesn't cost then £20 to type in my address and press enter.

The complete tool on the other end of the phone then said it was to cover their costs in contacting "rerelevant bodies" at which point I asked for the relevant bodies' telephone numbers and volunteered to do this myself thus removing the need for him to charge a fee.

I then got the standard terms and conditions tripe. About how I agreed to this when taking the policy out blah blah blah... Again I just said im not paying you £20. In the end he said he would change the address but wasn't waiving the fee and tesco would chase me for it.

Bring it on, if they're stupid enough incurr the costs of an ombudsman complaint made against them for the sake of £20, let them get on with it.

You'd lose as this is deemed a fair fee by them.

YOU have caused admin YOU should pay.

If YOU don't like admin fees next time don't screw the price down and go for a full service insurer like Hiscox.

keith1950

As above .....



" The complete tool on the other end of the phone then said it was to cover their costs in contacting "rerelevant bodies" at which point I asked for the relevant bodies' telephone numbers and volunteered to do this myself thus removing the need for him to charge a fee."


You are the " complete tool " for agreeing to the terms and conditions in the first place. Lets hope they chase you for the £20 and screw your credit rating for the next 6 six years. Numpty .

dunstonh

I just point blank refused to pay it and told them it doesn't cost then £20 to type in my address and press enter.

What evidence do you have to back up your assertion?

Whilst the action physical transaction wont cost £20, if you include the costing of the infrastructure, staffing and regulatory costs, it will cost more than then physical transaction.

The complete tool on the other end of the phone then said it was to cover their costs in contacting "rerelevant bodies" at which point I asked for the relevant bodies' telephone numbers and volunteered to do this myself thus removing the need for him to charge a fee.

The call centre staff are not trained to know how the pricing is worked out. Calling them a tool is rude an uncalled for. If you want to be that rude, we could call you a tool for buying a product that has a £20 admin charge and then complaining about that £20 charge. Or perhaps a bigger tool for wanting a policy without admin charges (which do still exist but cost more each year).

Bring it on, if they're stupid enough incurr the costs of an ombudsman complaint made against them for the sake of £20, let them get on with it.

The ombudsman can waive the fee for frivolous complaints. The ombudsman would have absolutely no problem with an admin charge of £20. Their publications already show a rejected complaint when the fee was £50 and that was a good many years ago.

If you dont want to pay admin fees then buy a policy that does not have admin fees. However, expect it to cost more each year.