High costs for small insurance policy changes

Minor changes to car and home insurance policies are costing consumers as much as £55 a time according to new research from Which? Money.

The consumer champion's research has found that 7 in ten car insurance providers and 1 in 3 home insurance providers charge customers administration fees for changing details on their policy like marital status or address.

On average, car insurance providers charge customers £21 and home insurers charge £18 for amending details on a policy. But some insurers are charging much more - young driver specialist, I-Kube, charges £55, while home insurer Bluefin has a £35 fee.

While people may expect to be charged something for duplicating policy documents, Which? Money was disappointed to find some insurers charging £30 for additional copies.

Furthermore, consumers are losing significant percentages of their premium refund and facing fees of up to £85 for cancelling insurance midway through their policy term.

Which? chief executive, Peter Vicary-Smith says: "Whether it's £30, £55 or an £85 fee, insurance companies are going to have a hard time trying to justify the exorbitant charges they're billing for routine tasks such as changing an address on a policy or providing duplicate policy documents.

"It's about time insurance companies start treating their customers fairly and make administrative charges proportionate and transparent."