Insurance Admin fee for changing the vehicle?

Bartman_2

Hi i have a scooter insured with Adrian Flux and bought a motorbike so i had the insurance changed from one to the other and they charged me a £37 admin fee, then when that bike broke i had to change it back to the scooter which cost a further £37 admin fee.
Now i have bought another motorbike of which i obviously need insuring now the Premium is only £109 for the year but if i have it transfered over again i will have paid over double that with the admin fees added.

I want to know can they charge that much money for entering a few details onto a computer?.

I dont want to pay that much again but dont want to lose my half a year no claims i allready have so i dont want to cancel it and get a new one.

any help would be greatly appreciated.

dunstonh

I want to know can they charge that much money for entering a few details onto a computer?.

This is an FAQ. Do a forum search.

However, yes they can and what makes you think that it doesn't cost much to enter a few details onto a computer? Who is going to pay for that computer? the operating system and software, the FSA levies, business risks, the building the computer sits in, the building the server and backups are kept, the staff member that uses that computer, their supervisors, managers, personnel department, heating, lighting, actuaries that work out the premiums, IT staff, compliance staff, personnel to deal with the staff, the staff members pension scheme and benefits and so on and so on.

I don't want to pay that much again but don't want to lose my half a year no claims i already have so i don't want to cancel it and get a new one.

cancelling it will incur another charge so that would be pointless.

Insurance premiums used to hide a lot of the admin costs but nowadays they have moved away from implicit charging to explicit charging. Generally this has resulted in lower premiums. So, unless you make changes frequently then you are better off. If you do make frequent changes then you are paying for it and not all the other policyholders.

lisyloo

You also might like to take a look at

http://www.matthewsguide.co.uk/

I have NO connection with this whatsoever but someone has compiled a load of admin information for £1.99 (and there is an offer on legal cover as well).

You can get ALL this information for free by phoning round or looking on the internet but it would take some time and effort so if your time is valuable then this might be worth looking at.

Again I have no connection and this is a suggestion for you to look into and not a recommendation.

Bartman_2

dunstonh wrote: »

and what makes you think that it doesn't cost much to enter a few details onto a computer? Who is going to pay for that computer? the operating system and software, the FSA levies, business risks, the building the computer sits in, the building the server and backups are kept, the staff member that uses that computer, their supervisors, managers, personnel department, heating, lighting, actuaries that work out the premiums, IT staff, compliance staff, personnel to deal with the staff, the staff members pension scheme and benefits and so on and so on.

Chill, im not getting at the insurers but when i pay £1.50 per minute for a phone call then get charged £37 for being ripped off for a motorbike that broke after 3 days and having to change the insurance back to my old one.

At the end of the day all them people are there, the computers and servers are there wether i change my insurance or not all i was asking was is it right that they are charging me over 1 third of my premium to enter a new make / model and reg no onto a computer and print a few pages of junk.

lisyloo

but when i pay £1.50 per minute for a phone call

Why on earth did you sign up to a contract you didn't like?

all i was asking was is it right that they are charging me over 1 third of my premium to enter a new make / model and reg no onto a computer and print a few pages of junk.

Legally speaking, yes it is right.

Aha....this explains the answer to my first question.
I think you are confusing "junk" and "contract".
It's a legal contract that both parties agree to not something you can squirm out of when it doesn't suit you.

I suggest you take some time to read the "junk" in future and reject it if the phone calls or admin fees are not to your liking.
It's even better if you do this before taking the policy then you don't need to cancel.
Many websites have the Ts&Cs information freely available for you to do this at your leisure.

Perhaps I shouldn't have to pay full price my next meal out, after all the restaurant and staff are already there.
Thank for that tip, I'll try it next time I go out :rotfl:

BTW - you also might like to try the following site to reduce your phone calls

www.saynoto0870.com

Bartman_2

Most websites may have the terms and conditions but they are a little hard to read over the phone.

This is my first insurance policy and obviously i've gone for the wrong one but i didnt need adding insult to injury all i was asking was is it right that they charge it.

And as for the silly remark about the restaurant, if my insurers actually went out and bought the paper, envelope,stamp and ink when i rang up and then sat down and wrote all the information they send me then personaly wrote to the MIB to get my vehicle insured, much like a chef would prepare cook mix all the ingrediants together and then present it on my plate then yes i would gladly pay them £37 but as they sit there for 2 minutes type things onto a computer and hit enter i didnt see how they could charge me £37 for it.

I came here for a little advice as i said this is my first insurance policy and that seemed a little high.

I'm sorry for wasting your time.

raskazz

Bartman wrote: »

At the end of the day all them people are there, the computers and servers are there wether i change my insurance or not all i was asking was is it right that they are charging me over 1 third of my premium to enter a new make / model and reg no onto a computer and print a few pages of junk.

Firstly, who do you think pays them to be there, and from which funds?

Secondly, individually one call has a small marginal cost. But provision of customer service incurs a large fixed cost, so your reasoning over the economics of the situation is fundamentally flawed.

Thirdly their fees will be stated in your KeyFacts / Terms of Business document. If you did not agree to the fees you should have exercised your right to cancel under the FSAs 14 day cooling off period.

By the way, you calling the documents 'junk' is very funny. If you had read the inital 'junk' you would not have found yourself in this predicament.

lisyloo

Most websites may have the terms and conditions but they are a little hard to read over the phone.

Hi Bartman,

Sorry you didn't like my jokes - I'll try to be serious and helpful.

There are a couple of choices for you here.
You can either read the Ts & Cs when you get them during the cooling off period.
Unfortunately to regard a legal contract as "junk" is a mistake.
One issue with doing it afterwards is that you have the hassle of cancelling, getting a refund (either of which may mysteriously get lost in the post) and then setting up a new policy.
I personally prefer to look upfront to save this hassle.
A lot of telephone companies (say like direct line and tescos) will have Ts & Cs on-line so even if you are getting a policy over the phone, you can still go on-line to their website and look.

if my insurers actually went out and bought the paper, envelope,stamp and ink when i rang up and then sat down and wrote all the information they send me then personaly wrote to the MIB to get my vehicle insured, much like a chef would prepare cook mix all the ingrediants together and then present it on my plate then yes i would gladly pay them £37

Well someone actually DOES have to order the paper and buy stamps (or get a franking machine) which someone has to operate.
It's ridiculous to say that these things don't cost money as it's patently clear that they do.
I'm trying to be serious and helpful now but why should I (as another motorist) pay for the paper being ordered for YOUR amendments when I don't need it?
If I don't want amendments then why should I have to pay for yours?
It's quite right that you should pay your fair share of the costs for this.
If you think that no paper or stamps are used or don't cost anything then you are being silly because they do get used and do cost money.

this is my first insurance policy and that seemed a little high

You need to factor in all the costs that dunstonh and myself have mentioned.
If you still think it's high then complain.
If you get to a "deadlock" situation then take it to the ombudsman.
Alternatively simply take the company to court.
Personally I think they could justify £37 but if you don't agree then challenge it by the methods I've mentioned above.

However whether you were innocently naive or not, you need to understand that you DID agree to a legal contract and you cannot just regard these as junk.
They are a legally binding agreement.
You would expect the insurer to pay out if you had an accident wouldn't you?
Of course you would, in which case you need to stick to your side of the bargain.
The fact that you dismissed it as junk may have been an innocent mistake on your part but it's not the insurers fault.

Make sure you take any other legal agreements you make (phone, gym) seriously and don't dismiss them as junk otherwise I anticipate you will be prey to unscrupulous comapnies.

jeanette251978

Bartman wrote: »

but as they sit there for 2 minutes type things onto a computer and hit enter i didnt see how they could charge me £37 for it.

Wow i wish that is all my day consisted of! Im gonna speak to my boss when im back to work and ask how come its not that easy! because bartman says thats what my day consists of LOL!!

helliecopter_2

Hey Bartman.... I had the joy of working for Adrian Flux for a few months nearly three years ago. Their policy then was to charge a £15 admin fee on top of any additional premium due for example after a change of address.The £37 seems a bit steep, but did that include additional premiums for a change in cc or value of the bike?

Bartman_2

no there was no change in cc and the premium was the same too, they said it was just an admin charge.