The furious voices of loyal customers fed up with being milked
DOZENS of readers wrote to Money Mail last week to tell us how insurers are ripping off their most loyal customers. Here are a few of their experiences. ‘LOYAL CUSTOMERS GET THE WORST PRICES’ A 76-year-old retired accountant from Bexley, South East London, noticed his car insurance for his BMW leaped from £331 to £531 in a single year after four years with the firm, despite no change in his vehicle.
When he called to complain, they dropped the price to £ 00 but he found a cheaper deal with a rival for just £159. He said: ‘I hadn’t made a claim, I had the same car, so what could the justification be for such a big rise?
‘It is all wrong that the most loyal customers get the worst prices.
‘They are so busy offering cheap deals to new customers, they take their other customers for granted.’ ‘IT IS THE OLDER FOLK WHO GET RIPPED OFF’ A 61-year-old man from Essex had been with a reputable home insurer for many years when he noticed his building and contents premium had crept up to £500. He shopped around and found a cheaper quote for just £17 .
He said: ‘It is older folk who get ripped off. Yes, we should all look for the best deals every year but not everyone is online savvy and able to shop around as easily. The regulators need to be more aggressive to stop companies hiking premiums to loyal customers.’ ‘I WISH I’D CHANGED SOONER’ A pensioner from Wolverhampton had building and contents insurance with the same major bank for 0 years.
When he was given a quote for almost £600 this year, he finally challenged them. The bank told him they had introduced a ‘new policy’ he could have for just £220 – £ 00 cheaper and a third of the original quote.
He has now moved to a different insurer entirely and says: ‘I wish I’d changed sooner. Next on the list is to change my cover with the AA after 35 years with them, British Gas after 0 years and Virgin after ten years.’ ‘WHY CAN’T THEY JUST GIVE ME THEIR BEST PRICE?’ A 65-year-old woman from Glasgow has been with a large insurer for eight years. Last year she received a quote for £6 0 for her family’s two cars.
Shocked, she called the firm and they dropped it to £ 3 .
This year, it jumped to £632. She called them once more and they instantly slashed it to £ 3 – a price usually reserved for new customers.
She said: ‘Why can’t they just give me their best price in the first place? It feels like they just try it on in the hope you won’t notice or don’t have the time and energy to pull them up on it.’ ‘INSURERS TREAT YOU LIKE AN IDIOT’ A 6 -year-old man from Moray, Scotland, discovered his premium with an online car insurance firm had doubled from £17 to £3 0 in his second year with them. He then found a better deal for £185 with a smaller excess.
He said: ‘They could not explain why there was such a huge increase in my premium. I feel insurers treat you like an idiot in the hope you will just automatically renew your policy each year.’ ‘I’M VERY ANGRY ABOUT THE ABUSE OF LOYALTY’ A 62-year-old businessman from Chiswick, West London, has had commercial buildings insurance with the same big firm for 25 years.
The cost usually rose by around £200 a year but shot up from £2, 65 to £3,500 this year.
After several hours of calling around, he received several quotes for less than £1,500.
He settled for a policy for £1,360. He said: ‘Of course, I am very pleased with the large saving that I have made but I’m also very angry about the abuse of 25 years of loyalty by my own insurer.’