You done good for me!
Hugh B.
Drive Rex, GA
Drivers are being hit with fees of more than pounds 300 million a year for making changes to their car insurance policies, research shows.
Almost 60 per cent of drivers - 14 million people -- need to make amendments to their policies mid-term, and are being stung with fees totalling 333 million pounds, according to price comparison service uSwitch.com. The research comes amid a test case designed to decide whether bank charges are fair. The average charge for making an amendment to a car insurance policy is just over pounds 22.
The top 10 insurers charge an average of more than pounds 38 for cancelling a policy, almost pounds 17 for making an adjustment, such as a change of address or name, and almost pounds 12 for providing duplicate documents.
Failure to amend policies can result in invalid insurance.
Charges vary widely, the data shows.
Some insurers do not charge anything for certain policy alternations: Norwich Union, Direct Line, Prudential and Hastings are among those who do not levy fees for duplicate documents, while the latter and Swiftcover charge nothing for change of details. Others, however, charge unlimited fees. Direct Line, Churchill and Prudential have no set charges for a policy being cancelled, but calculate these fees on customers' remaining premiums.
The removal of a clause on "excessive charges to retail customers" in the Insurance Code of Business earlier this year has left consumers open, said uSwitch.com.
"These 'hidden charges' and cancellation fees certainly seem excessive and there is a clear need to reinstate the rules around what is a fair charge to really put consumers' needs first," said insurance expert Ashton Berkhauer.
(c) 2008 Birmingham Post; Birmingham (UK). Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.
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