So in comes my Certificate & Policy, i had notice of how much my Renewal was a few weeks ago.

Been with them for years, so i thought best check all the Declaration, vehicle and insured details are correct.

 

So in the cost.

Comprehensive. £XX.XX

No Claim Protected (Yes / Free)

Legal Protection. £28.50

 

(& Discounts & Charges) 

Renewal arrangement fee £10.     *That is a charge of £10 for renewing*

...........................................

 

So it says.

"The amount payable includes Insurance Premium  Tax where applicable.

*The arrangement fee of £10 is charged under a separate contract with Sage Services Limited."

 

...........................................

I look forward to where i signed and accepted this SEPARATE CONTRACT to pay a £10 Charge 

for them to arrange my Insurance Renewal with them.

No doubt at some point they sent me something telling me in with previous letters, but they need to tell me where and when.

Only £10, but they are at it, IMO.

So the answer i got on the phone was.

They have always charged but it was all in together and now needs to be Separate.

Changes in rules by the FSA.

The Call Handler believes the AA already do this and others will have to follow.

(So basically so as not to pay the Insurance Premium Tax the £10 Renewal Charge is a Administration Charge and not Insurance.)

 

?

Is this the case then with AA Insurance, and with other Insurance Companies?

I've not noticed it on insurance, but have seen a similar thing in other goods and services where you get a quoted price, then at the point of paying there's a breakdown of where the money goes.

If it doesn't change what you expected to pay I'm not particularly bothered by it.

Good evening

 

Am I correct to assume you haven't yet renewed with Saga, you've just received your renewal notice?

 

The £10 admin fee is only applicable if you actually renew with them, they're not charging you to send your renewal notice.

 

Lot's of companies nowadays are charging fee's for almost everything, because a lot of the companies you deal with aren't actually providing your insurance, they're acting as 'a middle man' (intermediary in financial terms) and therefore they make their money from premium commissions and fees. 

 

It's your choice to renew with them or not, but if they're offering the best deal around, it shouldn't really matter how much they make out of the initial insurance premium. What you should check of course is how reasonable their adjustments/cancellation fees are. From what I've heard Saga are quite a good company to use for the older people out there.

 

 

**Edit - I believe I misread - you did renew with them and have now just received your paperwork? How did you renew the policy with them? Over the phone or via letter? If it's over the phone then they definitely should have stated the premium includes tax and a £10 fee. If it was via letters, again, this should have been shown within the premium breakdown. If they've failed to disclose this, then you could have grounds to complain and ask them for a refund of the fee as they failed to disclose this information to you. 

 

Of course, it is only £10. I have 2 years NCB, no claims convictions etc but I'm paying over £1k to insure a standard 2004 fabia vrs!!! This is due to my age 

Edited 30 January, 201610 yr by Orchideous

As above, virtually none of the companies with whom you think you insure are Insurance Companies, they are merely middlemen (Brokers / Agents in old terms) - this includes the AA, Saga, ALL of the supermarkets such as Tescos, Sainsbury's an M&S, plus  Adrian Flux and Chris Knott - who place your business with the actual Insurers who carry the risk.

 

Historically these intermediaries were paid commission from the Insurers for this - in the case of Motor Insurance this was typically between 7.5% - 12.5% (although some earned more, a few less), with the usual figure being 10%

 

Over the years the middlemen took on a greater roll in placing and renewing business icluding producing, printing and despaching documentation, and most began to additionally charge the customer a handling fee for doing so - these were called different names, and were not usually detailed seperately but simply hidden in an overall premium, to obscure the fact that they were being paid by both the buyer and the seller.

 

The FCA now require that these charges are detailed seperately to make the pricing more transparent.

 

Personally I could never see the point of these sort of interventions, as the average punter has no idea who they are insured with / through, what an intermediary is, or how the price is structured.

And why should they?

At the end of the day, the total price is what you pay - how it is arrived at is irrelevant.

LOL @ Older people out there.

Yes i will be renewing with them because they do the best cover for the vehicles with them, and are very good for a couple where one might be older.

The Policy is very good value but the Renewal Charge looked like they were at it to me.

 

I have vehicles insured with other Brokers / Underwriters where SAGA would not cover Modifications or 'Younger People' driving.

Hahaha... I tried to put it as delicately as possible

 

As BJM mentioned, it's pretty much industry standard now, overall premium is all that really matters... I worked for a company where we could (and were encouraged to by means of targets) charge up to 25% of premium renewal fee. This one lady put a £2000 fee (Yes, £2k) on a motor fleet policy, where we could have easily made enough from the commission alone. I'd like to mention that I no longer work in the Insurance industry LOL!

 

Insurance can be pretty disgraceful IMO, but £10 isn't a lot in the grand scheme of things. I believe Saga tend to take care of their more experienced policy holders

 

Hope we've been of help

You will not be Scottish i take it.

Many a mickle maks a muckle.  

 

 

 

All those £10 add up and if you have enough you get to open a Fish & Chip shop.

You will not be Scottish i take it.

Many a mickle maks a muckle.  

 

 

 

All those £10 add up and if you have enough you get to open a Fish & Chip shop.

 

You're correct in saying I'm not Scottish, quite the opposite, I'm from down' south!

 

Agreed, those £10's would indeed add up. Saga may also rely on those £10's adding up to make available such competitive premiums - Saving you the money to open a chain of chippys

 

If you're concerned about saving money, look into whether or not you feel they're having you at it with the Legal cover offered. It's completely optional.

 

http://www.theguardian.com/money/2006/jun/04/motorinsurance.insurance

 

http://www.whitedalton.co.uk/motorbike-blog/2010/07/legal-expenses-insurance-policy/

I am pulling your plonker, dont worry about it,

i am not serious, all i would do if i had £10 would spend it on deep fried Mars Bars.

Edited 30 January, 201610 yr by GoneOffskiroottoot

I am pulling your plonker, dont worry about it,

i am not serious, all i would do if i had £10 would spend it on deep fried Mars Bars.

 

Hahaha, don't worry, I got your sense of humour 

 

Although your taste in food I'd have to disagree with 

I noticed this starting a few years ago with certain brokers, and even after a few years with this broker, the "renewal/ arrangement fee" was as high as £35. I've always looked on brokers as folk who earn a commission fee from insurance companies for arranging policies. So why the new idea of "renewal/ arrangement fee", unless it's a new idea to soak punters some more. After all it seems a national sport to try and soak the motorist. road "safety" organisations do it, with cameras, councils do it with parking legislation/car park charges, so why not Insurance brokers.

BUT- as some brokers have found, "trying it on" has led to loyal customers moving around.

I noticed this starting a few years ago with certain brokers, and even after a few years with this broker, the "renewal/ arrangement fee" was as high as £35. I've always looked on brokers as folk who earn a commission fee from insurance companies for arranging policies. So why the new idea of "renewal/ arrangement fee", unless it's a new idea to soak punters some more. After all it seems a national sport to try and soak the motorist. road "safety" organisations do it, with cameras, councils do it with parking legislation/car park charges, so why not Insurance brokers.

BUT- as some brokers have found, "trying it on" has led to loyal customers moving around.

 

See Post #5 above where i explained how it came about, and why it is now detailed separately.

XXXXXX

As far as I'm concerned, the sooner, basic car insurance is made an addition to the petrol price the better. !

 

Nick

IMHO., I won't say that the car insurance industry and the type of people it attracts are the biggest bunch of tedious, time-wasting, excess-profiteering, easy money pocketing, duplicitous, double dealing, barstewards, yet unhung . . . . . but.

 

You can tell I'm a fan.

 

 

Nick

IMHO., I won't say that the car insurance industry and the type of people it attracts are the biggest bunch of tedious, time-wasting, excess-profiteering, easy money pocketing, duplicitous, double dealing, barstewards, yet unhung . . . . . but.

You can tell I'm a fan.

Nick

Are you taking about the cogs that make these companies turn I.E the people on the end of the phone, or the people at the top of the food chain?!

If it's the prior then that's a big brush you are using....

Are you taking about the cogs that make these companies turn I.E the people on the end of the phone, or the people at the top of the food chain?!

If it's the prior then that's a big brush you are using....

Well, to get to the top, the minnows that want to too have to demonstrate on a QED basis that they hold the same value set. So its unavoidable, where the organisational purpose is so set by those above and so many of these organisations are set-up just to extract money and, really the industrial sector context is irrelevant. Especially the ones who don't have a stock-market listing and are funded by lots of "Black" private equity. IMHO, this should be taught in every school as part of the careers syllabus to enable people to make refined career choices. Hell might well ice-up before that happens, of course. 

 

Postscript

 

Case in point with Saga and one of the ex-CES of that organisation, now in the House of Lords. Some might say would sell her grandmother for a packet of sherbet dabs if her mother hadn't done it before her.

 

Nick

Edited 19 February, 201610 yr by Clunkclick

Nick

 

There is a well known saying:

 

"Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt."

 

As your depth of ignorance about so may of the topics about which you post, I would suggest that you ponder the truth of that saying before starting typing.

 

You clearly have no idea how industry, and in particular the financial sector, operates or is regulated, and insist on posting these ludicrous conspiracy theory tirades, with no recourse to facts and with a strange 1960's fantasy left-wing "rich boys vs. poor " almost like a dark version of the Fosdyke Saga, where the wealthy seek to spend all of their time maliciously grinding the faces of the poor into the dirt.

 

Perhaps you could let us have a list of all of these motor insurance companies that have no stock market listing and are funded by lots of "Black" private equity - whatever that may be.

 

And if you think that Insurance companies make any profits, let alone excess profits, from Motor Insurance, you are sadly mistaken and reveal your further ignorance of the topic.

Well I had a VW dealer try to charge £80 administration fee, when selling me a car!

I refused to pay this charge, so the price was lowered by this amount, so the charge would still show on Thier paperwork

I have seen other dealers applying an administration fee, so why not charge them the same when applying your signature to the sales documentation?

£20 'Renewal Fee' this time on a policy on another car i have insured with them for years.

 

Prancers dancers and insurance chancers so just as well they are cheep and mirror NCB. 

Still cheeky barstewards tho.

** Off Topic **

 

My Breitling Watch was insured with them, Saga ( On the House Insurance, named Item ) I recieved a letter saying my watch was only insured when I was wearing it, if I took it off to wash my hands watch not insured.

 

If I was mugged and they wanted my watch I had to tell them to cut my arm off so I could claim for my watch

 

Hense, My house insurance is  now with someone else

 

** Back on topic **

Edited 19 July, 20169 yr by Auric Goldfinger

SAGA @ it again this year, renewal in on a policy and increased £40 over last years, so i phone up and the no menu is good just right through to a call handler.

 

So first the name and policy question and can i help and i say i am calling about my renewal.

Without me even saying it is too high she says 'lets see what we can do to reduce it', i said actually i was calling to increase the annual mileage, 

so we go through the 'no change' just 2,000 miles a year more miles.

 

Computer clicks or something and see says they can give a £44 discount, so that's fine.

Then she goes straight onto the Quote on Contents Insurance to get me the 'discount' & low and behold that is about half the usual price.

 

So a happy oldie (15 Years NC on this policy) still even though the cheeky barstewards tried it on again and probably i could have had the cover a few quid cheaper it is actually dead easy with them and paid quarterly without any interest charge.

So renewal notice in for 21st July.    2 pence cheaper than last year. 

I could get cheaper but not with as good cover and customer services, or quarterly payment by DD. 

They get the business for another 12 months.

I'm afraid Admiral came in cheaper for me last time around (Nov 2017) I had the daily driver with Saga but they upped the renewal by £40.

I shopped around before ringing Saga to barter with the prices I'd collected but during that process I had a call back from Admiral, when they offer to insure 2 cars (one modified) and full home insurance for around £370 (the home insurance cost £33) I just said yep do it.

I'm sure I'll be on the phones and compare sites again in Nov but hey ho that's how it goes.