Admiral penalty of £600 for claim added to Confused.com quote in error

jameseyre1

My daughter got a £600+ amount taken herof her bank account on Saturday from Admiral, her car insurer. On talking to customer service in India at the weekend, they said an additional undeclared insurance claim had been flagged and that was the reason for the penalty charge. She'd had nothing in writing about this, just the money leaving her account.

She's called Admiral in the UK today who said it was because she had generated a quote on confused.com that showed there had been an accident involving her car another vehicle, with a claim. She remembered doing this at the time (her policy is coming to an end in April) and corrected the quote. Admiral told her that the information was passed to them from the Confused.com quote (just a quote, not a purchase) and it triggered the automatic charge. She did have a claim that had been flagged on her policy originally from August 2025 which was already on record. Admiral added a second claim based on the confused.com quote.

Surely just getting a quote is not grounds for being charged?! You'd also expect some kind of notice in writing I would think?

Eventually, Admiral have accepted that they added the claim in error and the money is being returned within 10 days. I have never heard of this before and wondered if anyone else has experienced it?

user1977

Why did she add a claim which didn't exist?

MyRealNameToo

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6656531/admiral-penalty-of-600-for-claim-added-to-confused-com-quote-in-error

It's becoming more common that insurers are checking all the quotes you have done and identifying differences in them, particularly things that cannot change. You either have had an accident or not.

Most would write saying they've become aware of another incident and unless you contact them within X days they will automatically adjust the premium to reflect the new information. If writing is by email or letter depends on the preferences you set.

On the plus side they appear to have simply taken her word for it, there are many more cases on here where the insurers have required written evidence about the incident before they will drop it.

When you ask for a quote you state that all the information is correct and you have excessed due care in your declarations. Unfortunately may people are very happy to guestimate matters when they could easily give the accurate answer. You will also note there are a few well known names here (not Admiral) who specialise in catching people out for saying they passed their test in October 2024 when actually it was Jan 2025 and then presenting either a large bill to correct or a medium sized bill to cancel.

jameseyre1

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81895769#Comment_81895769

She was adding the known claim to a quote for her new policy (the old Admiral one was fully paid upfront last year), but mistakenly classed it as involving another vehicle, rather than damage only to the car. She then went back to amend it.

The existing policy provider, Admiral, got this information and then for some reason added another accident, (additional to the one declared at the start of that policy last year) making it look like a second one hadn't been declared, hence the charge.

I would understand if she had bought the new policy and it came to light there was a potential second accident, but this was just generating a quote, not a purchase.

ButterCheese

I'd imagine some people add claims to their quote just out of interest. But in fairness the T&Cs on the comparison sites probably say that you should only give information to the best of your knowledge. So even if added by mistake (I don't really see how that's possible, as it involves more than one click of a mouse) you are declaring that you are higher risk

dunstonh

they said an additional undeclared insurance claim had been flagged and that was the reason for the penalty charge.

Its not a penalty. Its a correction in the premium to what it should have been had the information been input honestly and correctly.

She remembered doing this at the time (her policy is coming to an end in April) and corrected the quote. Admiral told her that the information was passed to them from the Confused.com quote (just a quote, not a purchase) and it triggered the automatic charge. She did have a claim that had been flagged on her policy originally from August 2025 which was already on record. Admiral added a second claim based on the confused.com quote.

Quote data states that the information given is true and correct. The data has given Admiral an incorrect picture of two claims instead of one.

Surely just getting a quote is not grounds for being charged?! You'd also expect some kind of notice in writing I would think?

A quote on a comparison site is a declaration of correct information.

The issue here was the interpreation of the information given. Perhaps the month didnt match and it looked like a different claim.

Eventually, Admiral have accepted that they added the claim in error and the money is being returned within 10 days. I have never heard of this before and wondered if anyone else has experienced it?

Yes it is fairly common. Although in most cases it picks up people that failed to declare a claim. Rather than picking up the same claim twice.

She was adding the known claim to a quote for her new policy (the old Admiral one was fully paid upfront last year), but mistakenly classed it as involving another vehicle, rather than damage only to the car. She then went back to amend it.

so the data they used was correct based on what was input. It was the person inputting it that made the mistake.

It goes to show how important it is to be correct when inputting your data. This is why the comparison sites give a summary page of what you have input and ask you to check it before you submit it for quotes. The minute you submit it for quotes, you are effectively telling all insurers information about yourself that you have said is true and correct.

Isthisforreal99

Comparison sites are not toys to be played around with. As said above, every time you put info in and click submit you are declaring the information is correct.

Do silly things expect adverse outcomes.

luci

I understand the comments that accurate information should be provided when getting quotes. However, when people on here sometimes ask if an incident is worth claiming on insurance, it is often recommended that they get a quote with and without the incident, to see if it's worth it. They should use false but similar details to get the quotes.

dunstonh

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81896824#Comment_81896824

and they should use details that cannot identify them.

jameseyre1

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81896818#Comment_81896818

Thanks for your helpful advice.

luci

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81896925#Comment_81896925

I have added that to my comment.

I use false details to get dummy quotes. I used a false name and a different number on my street. I always opt out of getting anything by post. I have since been receiving marketing mail from one of the companies, with the false name, but MY address and house number.