Car Insurance Administration Charge

[Chris Dance]

Today I had to organise the transfer of my Toyota insurance from my present Prius car to a new 14 plate Prius to take place in early August. I was amazed to be asked to pay an administration charge of £12.50 for this transaction. I cannot recall having to pay this on cars I have purchased in the past. Is this a new charge and do all insurance companies charge it?

[ian rooke]

Hi My insurance charges £15.00 the wife's is £25.00 company's have been charging for years.

[FROSTYBALLS]

It varies from company to company - we've been insured with LV for a number of years and have changed cars five times in that period, and not been charged an admin fee.

[timberwolf]

My LV policy has an administration charge of £15 for change of driver or vehicle.

[Aceshigh84]

£12.50?! That's cheap! Some are upwards of £30 for administration charges now.

There was an article in one of the tabloids a few days ago about the way insurance companies are keeping insurance quote figures low to grab headlines but bumping up their profits through the various extra fees and charges.

[FROSTYBALLS]

Our policies state that there may be an admin charge made, and to refer to one's insurance schedule for details. Never the less though, we've yet to be charged anything for change of vehicle.

Wonder if the difference is that our insurance is arranged with LV through the Civil Service Motoring Association via Frizzells. We don't pay for legal expenses cover, as that is provided free by the CSMA/Frizzells.

[timberwolf]

I wouldn't have thought CSMA membership contributed mcuh. I noticed the fee last time I renewed my policy, but I've no idea when it was first introduced. As schedules vary person to person maybe the fees also vary or possibly application of a fee depends on other factors?

[Grumpy Cabbie]

Insurance companies have made such charges since before 1994 when I first worked in the industry, though the charges originally were more punitive such as reissuing duplicate documentation etc. It costs money to answer phones etc and some people ring up changing their policy more than you'd imagine. People would ring up to add little Johnny for the weekend when he was home from uni and then remove him on the Monday only to add him back on the following weekend. Others would 'lay up' their car if they were going on holiday for a fortnight or over winter. Generally taking the p***.

But as others have said, £12,50 is actually cheap as some charge much more. You might find that the companies that are dirt cheap for an annual premium charge more for small changes.

The one I find questionable are the £10 policy fees charged by some brokers, who also receive commission. Then you have legal expenses added at anything between £15 & £45 a year. This cover again varies but I'd question anything over £15. If you are injured in a non fault accident, there are many companies out there who will assist you for free later (though the cover is not as wide).

Just get good advice.

[FROSTYBALLS]

I wouldn't have thought CSMA membership contributed mcuh.

CSMA have had strong links with LV for years - getting the best discounts that LV provide, through LV's Frizzell brand for their 500,000 plus members. CSMA also successfully owned and operated Brittania Rescue since its inception in 1983 through to 2007, when they sold Brittania Rescue to LV.

[timberwolf]

I've compared my policy between this year and last. It was £10 and in brackets not charged if you had been with them for 2 years, this year it is £15 and no mention of an exclusion. I'd be interested to hear if your policy/schedule has changed?

I'd agree the breakdown cover is good. LOL, I am aware of the CSMA, they publish a "caravan", "holiday" and woeful car review magazine. We'll just have to disagree on the insurance discounts being the best available.

[johalareewi]

Then you have legal expenses added at anything between £15 & £45 a year. This cover again varies but I'd question anything over £15. If you are injured in a non fault accident, there are many companies out there who will assist you for free later (though the cover is not as wide).

It is also worth checking if you have legal cover via other insurance policies you already have.

No need to pay twice (or more) for the same thing.

[Chris Dance]

The £12.50 I was charged may be low and if an admin charge is the normal thing that is fine. It is just that I cannot recall having paid this charge before. Thanks for all the replies.

[Cyker]

Yeah, my dad got stung by this with the Co-op - We added another driver on-line and changed something else, and then got hit with a £25 admin charge on top of the extra money (Which was only about £7!) for the additional driver!

I was gobsmacked; Since it was all automated, I really don't get how they can justify such an outrageous charge! We don't even get sent new paperwork; It is automatically generated and you have to download a PDF and print it yourself!

My insurers never charged me last time I made a modification, and I was doing it over the phone, talking to an actual human; Not feeding bits to some automated robot box!

[FROSTYBALLS]

Which? have an article this month on car insurance charges. They examined standard polices from 40 insurers. Whilst I'm not going to go into detail, the following are the types of charges people may face (percentages and costs are average figures):

Set-up fee - usually around £20

Direct debit charge - between 15% and 30% APR

Credit card fee - between 1& and 2%

Early cancellation fee (charged by some if you leave during the cooling off period) - around £25

Adjustment fee - between £15 and £20

Duplicate document fee - between £3 and £30

Cancellation fee - around £50

Renewal fee (charged by a minority of insurers) - around £20.

[Parts-King]

I was charged "admin fee" for changing address, no more on the policy for risk (and no reduction either for a lower risk area) think it was £25 for someone to type in a new address and post out a certificate-shocking but what can you do?

Yes it is very much common place

[RunningInPleasePass]

It varies from company to company - we've been insured with LV for a number of years and have changed cars five times in that period, and not been charged an admin fee.

I'm with LV, never been charged when changing car.

The Schedule says a fee of £10 is charged if you change car or driver (waived if you have been with LV more then 2 years)

[timberwolf]

Was your LV policy before May/June?

[RunningInPleasePass]

Was your LV policy before May/June?

Yes, for both my Auris and my wife's IQ.

But as luck would have it, this morning I have just received my renewal documents from LV for my Auris, and your correct, to change driver or car now costs £15 with no waiver for being with LV for more then 2 years!

[timberwolf]

Thanks. I am relieved but at the same time disappointed with the trend. A race to the bottom. I was also disappointed when insurance put clauses in when you forgot to lock the front door they weren't paying out - who can say they've never been absent minded once in their life :(

[MEP's Yaris GS]

It varies from company to company - we've been insured with LV for a number of years and have changed cars five times in that period, and not been charged an admin fee.

I'm with LV, never been charged when changing car.

The Schedule says a fee of £10 is charged if you change car or driver (waived if you have been with LV more then 2 years)

Some companies will only charge such fee's when there is an adjustment to the risk / premium.

Thanks. I am relieved but at the same time disappointed with the trend. A race to the bottom. I was also disappointed when insurance put clauses in when you forgot to lock the front door they weren't paying out - who can say they've never been absent minded once in their life :(

Depends who you insure with, not all insurance companies have that clause.

What people need to remember is that with insurance you often get what you pay for (or not as most find out when it comes to claim as they were fixated on premium when taking out the policy and not the standard level of cover.

www.defaqto.com/stars is a good place to start comparisons.

I wonder how many on here are insured with an insurer who will happily leave them on the side of a motorway after a smash that leaves their vehicle immobile - It'll be more than you'd think, as recovery from the scene of an accident isn't cover by some big names, this'll be something you'll have to fork out yourself!

[FROSTYBALLS]

Usually the police have recovery contractors who remove undrivable cars following an accident.

[Chris Dance]

My car insurance is with Toyota. Toyota insurance is not the cheapest I can find for our Prius but it guarantees I can use a Toyota repair centre without any hassle.

I know other insurance companies say you can use a repair centre of your choice but from the experience when I had to repair my Avensis it was not straight forward and in the end I had to use the insurance companies approved repair centre.

When I paid the £12.50 Toyota Ins. Admin Charge the other day I inquired about the insurance cost for my new Prius I was informed it may be lower than I have paid for the past year!!

Why do insurance companies always put NO CLAIM events on your Ins docs? I informed Direct Line when a wing mirror got knocked off my Gen 2 Prius. I decided not to claim and paid for the replacement mirror myself. I informed Direct Line I was not claiming but they still recorded it as a claim and refused to remove it from the Ins Docs. When I changed companies I had a job convincing the new company I had not had a claim. You are obliged to tell Ins Companies of incidents that happen to your car but sometimes it is better not to inform them if you pay for the repair.

[MEP's Yaris GS]

Usually the police have recovery contractors who remove undrivable cars following an accident.

Correct, and this is something you will have to pick up the bill for if not covered by your insurance company!

My car insurance is with Toyota. Toyota insurance is not the cheapest I can find for our Prius but it guarantees I can use a Toyota repair centre without any hassle.

I know other insurance companies say you can use a repair centre of your choice but from the experience when I had to repair my Avensis it was not straight forward and in the end I had to use the insurance companies approved repair centre.

When I paid the £12.50 Toyota Ins. Admin Charge the other day I inquired about the insurance cost for my new Prius I was informed it may be lower than I have paid for the past year!!

Why do insurance companies always put NO CLAIM events on your Ins docs? I informed Direct Line when a wing mirror got knocked off my Gen 2 Prius. I decided not to claim and paid for the replacement mirror myself. I informed Direct Line I was not claiming but they still recorded it as a claim and refused to remove it from the Ins Docs. When I changed companies I had a job convincing the new company I had not had a claim. You are obliged to tell Ins Companies of incidents that happen to your car but sometimes it is better not to inform them if you pay for the repair.

Risk calculation, its still classes and in incident / loss, even if not claimed for. You could argue the same about why none fault claims have to be noted also. The reason is because some companies will still load your premium for a none fault claim or incident notification.