Insurance cancellation fees
Discussion
How long has this been such a huge money spinner.
Made the classic mistake, along with a job and house move, also had to move all the insurance etc and simply forget I had not checked the auto renew on my car insurance.
So spent ages going through quotes etc, wondered why my current insurer not only did not tell me, but also would NOT insure me. No messages anywhere to tell me my insurance was renewing, etc, very poor form Direct Line, and before you all say I should know, of course but what with a job and house move and MOT all due same time these things are easier let slip.
And then proceeded to buy insurance elsewhere, hit with a £49.99 cancellation fee within a few days of taking this out as I realised my mistake when new docs landed on doormat. easiest money anyone has ever ,made.
My question is this why do these piece of dirt companies not talk to each other, they have to check all your details anyway to check your vehicle, licence and all sorts of stuff, why do they not hit up a message saying "did you know you re in an autorenewal system or something, We all know why, because they can generate these ridiculous good for nothing fees for doing sod all. Surely this must be regulated, Oh I forgot it is insurance the most unregulated industry I have ever experienced when it comes to conning people for nothing.
I know it was my mistake, but they do NOTHNING whatsoever for this money, no postage, nothing, yet I am charged 50 quid, and then spoken to like a child on the phone by some b
h who is probably on 30%#
Makes me fue to be conned and ripped off by these companies who probably coin in millions a year doing this.
Made the classic mistake, along with a job and house move, also had to move all the insurance etc and simply forget I had not checked the auto renew on my car insurance.
So spent ages going through quotes etc, wondered why my current insurer not only did not tell me, but also would NOT insure me. No messages anywhere to tell me my insurance was renewing, etc, very poor form Direct Line, and before you all say I should know, of course but what with a job and house move and MOT all due same time these things are easier let slip.
And then proceeded to buy insurance elsewhere, hit with a £49.99 cancellation fee within a few days of taking this out as I realised my mistake when new docs landed on doormat. easiest money anyone has ever ,made.
My question is this why do these piece of dirt companies not talk to each other, they have to check all your details anyway to check your vehicle, licence and all sorts of stuff, why do they not hit up a message saying "did you know you re in an autorenewal system or something, We all know why, because they can generate these ridiculous good for nothing fees for doing sod all. Surely this must be regulated, Oh I forgot it is insurance the most unregulated industry I have ever experienced when it comes to conning people for nothing.
I know it was my mistake, but they do NOTHNING whatsoever for this money, no postage, nothing, yet I am charged 50 quid, and then spoken to like a child on the phone by some b
h who is probably on 30%#Makes me fue to be conned and ripped off by these companies who probably coin in millions a year doing this.
Edited by LukeBrown66 on Monday 11th October 17:50
Sorry chaps the cancel fee was with the new insurer I then wanted to cancel, I made an error in the mix of moving etc, and forget I was on auto renew. Existing quote was much cheaper than new one. (funny that)
So, existing company refused insurance, no mention on their site as I logged in as a customer, checked emails etc and must have missed the auto renew one, went ahead with new policy after old one (I thought) lapsed, only to find out existing was on auto renew as papers plopped through letterbox today. Emailed new company, only to be told 50 quid thanks.
Have checked and this is clearly policy with some companies, some of them charge 75 quid within the 14 days and then 35 after this time ridiculous profiteering I think.
My mistake obviously but being ripped off over a mistake, that is easy for ALL insurance companies to resolve for everyone, is very annoying
So, existing company refused insurance, no mention on their site as I logged in as a customer, checked emails etc and must have missed the auto renew one, went ahead with new policy after old one (I thought) lapsed, only to find out existing was on auto renew as papers plopped through letterbox today. Emailed new company, only to be told 50 quid thanks.
Have checked and this is clearly policy with some companies, some of them charge 75 quid within the 14 days and then 35 after this time ridiculous profiteering I think.
My mistake obviously but being ripped off over a mistake, that is easy for ALL insurance companies to resolve for everyone, is very annoying
LukeBrown66 said:
I know it was my mistake, but they do NOTHNING whatsoever for this money, no postage, nothing, yet I am charged 50 quid, and then spoken to like a child on the phone by some bh who is probably on 30%#
Nothning apart from provide a system that allows you to buy an insurance policy and a system that allows you to talk to a human being you mean?h who is probably on 30%#LukeBrown66 said:
. Surely this must be regulated, Oh I forgot it is insurance the most unregulated industry I have ever experienced when it comes to conning people for nothing.
Financial services are ridiculously over regulated. Car insurance in this country is dirt cheap, but would be even cheaper if insurers didn't have to spend millions on meeting the raft of regulation imposed by govt via the FCA. You could probably run a nuclear power station and have to deal with fewer regulations.
If you've been with the same insurer for 4 years, they have to write to you at renewal to warn you that you could get a better deal elsewhere, and you should check out alternatives. Tell me OP, does that apply in your business? Do you have to contact loyal customers and encourage them to check out the opposition?
The brokers who are behind the aggregators (compare the market / go compare etc.) have to pay the aggregators per lead/policy placed.
More often than not the brokers don't profit from you in year one which is one reason why they charge such high cancellation / mid term change fees.
You take out a policy
Broker pays aggregator £50 for the lead
You cancel on day 7
Broker charges you their outlay, plus they are down as someone has had to process.
More often than not the brokers don't profit from you in year one which is one reason why they charge such high cancellation / mid term change fees.
You take out a policy
Broker pays aggregator £50 for the lead
You cancel on day 7
Broker charges you their outlay, plus they are down as someone has had to process.
I fail to see how making a huge profit out of people making a genuine mistake is anything other than a bit of a scam, especially when a lot of insurance companies do not charge a cancellation fee within the first few weeks, yet some charge anything up to £75 even hours after you might have taken out the policy.
And my point about ungoverned is exactly that, why is there no actual policy from the regulator to allow a set fee for cancellation within 14 days, why is this left up to the company, we all know why, so they can do things like this, and employ a tactic that catches people out who make a simple mistake as their lives are busy perhaps.
And why, upon checking my account with my current insurer is there no flag there to say, "you cannot proceed with a quote from us as you are already insured via auto renew" Not just a message saying "sorry we cannot insure you, which can happen whatever age from any company. Again, I think we all know why.
And my point about ungoverned is exactly that, why is there no actual policy from the regulator to allow a set fee for cancellation within 14 days, why is this left up to the company, we all know why, so they can do things like this, and employ a tactic that catches people out who make a simple mistake as their lives are busy perhaps.
And why, upon checking my account with my current insurer is there no flag there to say, "you cannot proceed with a quote from us as you are already insured via auto renew" Not just a message saying "sorry we cannot insure you, which can happen whatever age from any company. Again, I think we all know why.
LukeBrown66 said:
Oh I forgot it is insurance the most unregulated industry I have ever experienced when it comes to conning people for nothing.
This is laughably untrue. The volume of consumer protection rules that insurers have to deal with is enormous!This thread demonstrates that when the regulator tells companies to treat their customers like children, the customers will act like them.
NickCQ said:
This is laughably untrue. The volume of consumer protection rules that insurers have to deal with is enormous!
This thread demonstrates that when the regulator tells companies to treat their customers like children, the customers will act like them.
This thread demonstrates that when the regulator tells companies to treat their customers like children, the customers will act like them.
I think people think that insurance companies print money. With some of the lowest interest rates on record and growing claim sizes, amongst the constant rise in demand for online platforms, aggregators, online chat, growing cost of servicing FTE, growing postal costs for sending out policy documents because apparently customers can't be bothered to note down their direct debits/insurance renewal dates so need a letter in the post.... where do people think all this profit is coming from?!
Your £350 a year car insurance policy whereby any claim you make is likely to far exceed that....Yep it's definitely a real money spinner allowing people to drive a very expensive piece of transport without any risk of financial peril if you should be so unfortunate to crash.....
LukeBrown66 said:
And why, upon checking my account with my current insurer is there no flag there to say, "you cannot proceed with a quote from us as you are already insured via auto renew" Not just a message saying "sorry we cannot insure you, which can happen whatever age from any company. Again, I think we all know why.
Why can't you take some responsibility on your own shoulders to know if you're insured or not. It's not their job to organise your life if you can't. I don't understand why you expect some organisation who you've never engaged with previously and who don't know you from a stray cat in the street to protect you from your own mismanagement of your own affairs. Ffs. And on another thread, you'll probably be complaining about the nanny state.
Is the 66 in your user name your year of birth. If so, you're 55. Get a grip man.
Read the first post please you will see there that this is obviously my mistake I never said it was not, but to design a product that capitalises on that sort of mistake to me is laughable.
And I also notice that none of you have answered why the cancellation fee within 14 days is different from provider to provider, some it is free, some it is over £75, how is that even slightly regulated, or do you all work in similar industries that rip people off with small print and cons.
You just default to the common PH denominator of ripping the arse out of someone who made a mistake and asks why a company then proceeds to con people out of money as a result for doing absolutely nothing other than sending out some docs via email!, but what would I expect, I am in the finance section!! Everyone I know who works in finance is a bit of a, well you know.
And I also notice that none of you have answered why the cancellation fee within 14 days is different from provider to provider, some it is free, some it is over £75, how is that even slightly regulated, or do you all work in similar industries that rip people off with small print and cons.
You just default to the common PH denominator of ripping the arse out of someone who made a mistake and asks why a company then proceeds to con people out of money as a result for doing absolutely nothing other than sending out some docs via email!, but what would I expect, I am in the finance section!! Everyone I know who works in finance is a bit of a, well you know.
But you made a mistake with Party A. So you went to Party B who sorted you out, then Party A reappeared. You decided you didn’t want whatever Party B had provided and are pissed off that they said ‘well, that’s fine but you need to pay for the service you wanted, we provided, and now you’re cancelling’. Is that the gist of it?
I feel like charging you fifty quid just for replying
I feel like charging you fifty quid just for replying
LukeBrown66 said:
Read the first post please you will see there that this is obviously my mistake I never said it was not, but to design a product that capitalises on that sort of mistake to me is laughable.
They haven't designed a product to capitalise on that. They've designed a product to provide motor insurance, at cheaper prices than people pay in most other comparable markets, working on ridiculously low margins. You bought the product, by mistake, got the documents, realised you didn't want it, then cancelled it. Why the hell shouldn't all that palaver be charged for? They're running a business, not a charity for the financially disorganisedThere's a pretty universal lack of sympathy for you in the replies so far, on a forum that's usually pretty hostile to motor insurance providers. That should tell you something.
LukeBrown66 said:
And I also notice that none of you have answered why the cancellation fee within 14 days is different from provider to provider, some
I've got to agree that not having a 14 day cooling off period is pants. Direct Line (for example) do have 14 days, or whenever the documents arrive, whichever is the later.I guess read the T&C before purchase is the answer. (Although who does?)
LukeBrown66 said:
And I also notice that none of you have answered why the cancellation fee within 14 days is different from provider to provider, some it is free, some it is over £75, how is that even slightly regulated.
It is heavily regulatedhttps://www.handbook.fca.org.uk/handbook/ICOBS/7.p...
When a consumer exercises the right to cancel he may only be required to pay, without any undue delay, for the service actually provided by the firm in accordance with the contract. The amount payable may include:
(1) any sums that a firm has reasonably incurred in concluding the contract, but should not include any element of profit;
(2) an amount for cover provided (i.e. a proportion of the policy's exposure that relates to the time on risk);
(3) a proportion of the commission paid to an insurance intermediary sufficient to cover its costs; and
(4) a proportion of any fees charged by an insurance intermediary which, when aggregated with any commission to be repaid, would be sufficient to cover its costs.
If you feel the fee is too high go to the FOS and challenge it for free. The issue you will have is #4 of that list of charges - Google, confused.com, Compare the Market etc own online distribution and rinse the insurers for something like £50 per policy.
What you are seeing in the difference between providers is partly differences in distribution model and partly providers choosing to eat the loss on cancellation to preserve brand value.
NickCQ said:
LukeBrown66 said:
And I also notice that none of you have answered why the cancellation fee within 14 days is different from provider to provider, some it is free, some it is over £75, how is that even slightly regulated.
It is heavily regulatedhttps://www.handbook.fca.org.uk/handbook/ICOBS/7.p...
When a consumer exercises the right to cancel he may only be required to pay, without any undue delay, for the service actually provided by the firm in accordance with the contract. The amount payable may include:
(1) any sums that a firm has reasonably incurred in concluding the contract, but should not include any element of profit;
(2) an amount for cover provided (i.e. a proportion of the policy's exposure that relates to the time on risk);
(3) a proportion of the commission paid to an insurance intermediary sufficient to cover its costs; and
(4) a proportion of any fees charged by an insurance intermediary which, when aggregated with any commission to be repaid, would be sufficient to cover its costs.
If you feel the fee is too high go to the FOS and challenge it for free. The issue you will have is #4 of that list of charges - Google, confused.com, Compare the Market etc own online distribution and rinse the insurers for something like £50 per policy.
What you are seeing in the difference between providers is partly differences in distribution model and partly providers choosing to eat the loss on cancellation to preserve brand value.
Slim to none I'm guessing.
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