Admin Fee for Change on Insurance Policy

[cobra kid]

Due to a change of car, my premium has dropped slightly for the remainder of it's term. The kind gentleman at Hastings Direct then proceeded to lay a £35 admin change on me which wrote off any reduction in premium. Just how difficult is it to get then to waive these things?

I threatened cancelling both our cars with them there and then. He basically told me to do it then.

[R182]

Mind if I ask what the change was?

I've used Admiral/Elephant for over 3 years and don't recall ever being charged any fees for making amendments.

[poing]

Standard for almost every insurance company, you have more to lose by cancelling. I once got £3 back after the reduction was slightly more than the admin fee but due to the fact they were going to have bank charges to make the payment it was going to cost me £6 to get it back. I didn't bother.

[SS2.]

Looks to be a standard charge for Hastings -

Hastings said:

Arranging your New Policy - £10 (£0 if quoted and accepted on our website)
Arranging your Renewal - £5
Amendments / Changes to your policy - £35
Duplicate Documentation - £35
Unpaid Cheque/Direct Debit - £10
Cancellation - £55 (reduced to £25 if you cancel within the 14 day cooling off period)

[smileymikey]

R182 said:

Mind if I ask what the change was?

I've used Admiral/Elephant for over 3 years and don't recall ever being charged any fees for making amendments.

Admiral hit us for twenty five quid to cover a hire car while ours was being repaired as an admin charge.

[littlebasher]

I've had this a few times recently. My advice is to tell them that the charge is unreasonable and you don't think that it accurately reflects the cost / inconvenience to them.

To quote the ABI

"Insurers do not look to make any additional charge for policy changes unless they incur costs,"
"Where an insurer makes a charge, then they should make it clear why this charge is being made,"

See http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-11388954

I rammed this lot down their throat, got a £50 refund from the AA and two other companies reduced the fee to £10

[Wacky Racer]

To be fair to HD they are upfront about this charge and EVERYONE should read and understand the terms and conditions of any insurance policy before taking it out. If you are unhappy go elsewhere.

And yes, I was hit with this £35 a couple of years ago by HD when I cancelled a motorbike policy when I sold the machine, but to be fair their premium was extremely competitive.