Admiral Car Insurance Query

[Baz1994]

Had an existing policy with Admiral for my 2001 VW Golf.

 

Sold it and purchased a 2007 VW Golf newer model but same engine size.

 

Still have 2 months of existing policy to run so contacted them to give new details and was told that there would be an additional premium to pay of £83 plus an admin charge of £19.50 ?

 

When I asked why the increase, I was told that it was due to the fact that it was a new car and that I was not use to driving it ?

 

Now I have been driving for more than 30+ years, have a clean license and 21+ years no claims. I decided to pay the extra premium as I didn't want to incur anymore costs due to cancelling the policy but advised that I will be reconsidering at renewal.

 

I requested a fuller explanation in writing in which was received today.

 

They further explain that they rate premiums on car grouping, value, year of purchase and year of make / model.

 

Then they quote :-

 

"The main cause of is the year the car was purchased. Our claims statistics have shown this is an important factor. The claims statistics show the longer a person has owned and driven a particular car, the better risk they are ? The trends show the first year in a new car is the most risky. This could be because you may still be getting used to the car.

 

Even though your new car is the same make / model and grouping as your previous car, the type and market value of the car is different."

 

Ok I do accept that the value has increased by about £1,500 but how can they justify such a large increase and also charge an admin fee ?

 

Has anyone recently been given the same explanation as it is the first that I have heard of this ?

 

Thanks for looking

[unclebulgaria67]

Standard explanation and some truth in it. I think there is also the captive market explanation where an existing customer with a change of car is mostly going to pay the amount. Wonder what the premium for an annual policy with Admiral would be to get a comparison.

 

Even if you found they were taking advantage of an existing policyholder, there is not much you can do.

[Baz1994]

Standard explanation and some truth in it. I think there is also the captive market explanation where an existing customer with a change of car is mostly going to pay the amount. Wonder what the premium for an annual policy with Admiral would be to get a comparison.

 

Even if you found they were taking advantage of an existing policyholder, there is not much you can do.

 

OK and thanks for your reply.

 

So basically they have you over a barrell in these circumstances. If I cancelled the policy I would have to pay the remaining policy premium so will still be out of pocket.

 

And what is the administration charge for, is this correct ?

 

Well it's up for renewal in the next few weeks. I am about to give them a call acknowledging receipt of their letter so I will ask about new annual quotation.

 

I will let you know what they say.

 

[unclebulgaria67]

Yes admin fee standard and correct.

 

You cannot win, they all do this and Admiral are not the worst offender.

 

Insurers staff that handle premium ratings focus on new customers to gain business and they sometimes sting existing customers to make up the money. Don't you feel some sense of pride in helping to subsidise new customers

[Baz1994]

Yes admin fee standard and correct.

 

You cannot win, they all do this and Admiral are not the worst offender.

 

Insurers staff that handle premium ratings focus on new customers to gain business and they sometimes sting existing customers to make up the money. Don't you feel some sense of pride in helping to subsidise new customers

 

Great and cheers for your comments.

 

Had previous car for 14 years and been with Admiral the same amount of time, so therefore I was a bit surprised with their reasons.

 

Just like banks, no loyalty whatsoever.

 

Ah well lets see what the renewal quote will be

[Baz1994]

Just spoke to Admiral regarding renewal for new car.

 

They quoted an extra annual premium of £185 (about £16 pm extra). I know only minimal but for the last two months of policy I was charged £21 extra (equates to annual increase of £252) - Confused ?

 

Anyway mentioned that I will not be renewing as can get it cheaper elsewhere and better coverage. Then when further discussed as to why, I managed to reduce premium to only £40 extra but with additional coverage and a loyalty discount lol !

 

They have also refunded the administration fee

[ericsbrother]

None of them get it do they? The only pain in changing insurers every year is proving NCD as you have to keep all of your paperwork for ever and they all have different maximums.

If you phoned in as a new customer I bet they would have given you a much lower quote than your best renewal figure.