Loyal customers hit by huge bill hikes
JOHN SHAW was furious after his car premium with Churchill soared from £382 to £508 in a year.
The 83-year-old had stuck with the insurer for four years – and had not changed his car in that time or made a claim.
When he contacted Churchill the firm offered to reduce his premiums to £ 80. He went to a rival insurer and found cover for £308.
Mr Shaw, who lives in a village outside Southampton, said: ‘I have no idea why Churchill decided to charge me more.
‘It seems as though I was penalised for being loyal.’ A Churchill spokesman said: ‘Our statistics show that as drivers enter their 70s and 80s their claims costs and frequency increases and our prices have to reflect this in expected claims costs. While this trend is seen across the industry, each insurer’s view of risk can vary from policy to policy, which means each insurer may offer very different prices.’
JILLIAN THOMAS was horrified to discover that her 91year-old mother Anne was being charged £775 a year for her home cover policy with Direct Line.
The pensioner, who is partially sighted and hard of hearing and does not have access to the internet, had been a customer of the insurer for many years.
After she received the eyewatering renewal notice last year, her daughter shopped around and found she could obtain cover for her mother’s four-bedroom home in Sheffield for £160 a year with another insurer.
Mrs Thomas, 56, a financial adviser, says: ‘It feels as though insurers are discriminating against the elderly, as many of my mum’s age have no way of comparing prices. This is an absolute scandal and needs to be stopped.’
A Direct Line spokesman said: ‘We have renewed Mrs Thomas’ policy and can confirm her premium has increased on average 6 per cent a year since 2013 when she no longer received a new business discount. This increase can be attributed to claims inflation within the industry and the increase in the insurance premium tax from 6 per cent in 2011 to 12 per cent in 2017.’
MIKE PICKERING, 67, saw the cost of his motor policy with over-50s insurer Saga jump from £557 to £722 at renewal this week. He has not made a claim or changed his vehicle in that period – and drives only 6,000 miles a year in his five-year-old Vauxhall Astra. The retiree, who lives near Birmingham, said: ‘Saga is supposed to be for older people but they have hiked the cost of my policy by a substantial amount.
‘It might be that they thought from their data I could afford to pay a bit more so tried to bump up my premiums.’
A Saga spokesman said: ‘Insurance is a competitive sector, pricing is dynamic and depends on many factors.
‘The underwriters on our panel regularly review the way they rate risk. This means that some customers see a price increase at renewal, while others see a reduction.’
The firm said it does not adjust premiums upwards according to a customer’s ability to pay.