I recently moved home and notified Swinton, my insurance company, of my change of address. I was tol...

1. Insurance broker Swinton is piling on the admin fees
I recently moved home and notified Swinton, my insurance company, of my change of address. I was
told I had to pay a £25 administration fee to do this. Moreover, because I -mentioned that I had
changed jobs from a legal secretary to a personal assistant, I was liable for a £39 change-o-
-occupation fee.
Does this mean that every time a person changes jobs they have to pay more money to their
insurance company? In my case, I was made redundant from my previous job and earn £10,000 less
in my new one.
The world wide web has provided many advantages to anyone looking to obtain most flavours of
insurance. Besides the convenience of being able to purchase your policy from the comfort of your
armchair, it has the more significant benefit of allowing us to obtain quotes from numerous
insurance companies. A few years back you had to fill in an online form for every quote, that was an
incredibly tedious task and we all used to give up after managing to get half a dozen quotes. These
days we have a number of price comparison sites that will come up with a whole host of quotes after
completion of just one form...what a relief!. Clicking on the following link will provide information on
http://www.insurance-advisor.org.uk/motoring-conviction-codes-2/.
It would seem that insurance companies- are cashing in on these times of uncertainty. BB, Roydon,
Essex
Admin fees for updating policies are a grubby little secret buried in the terms and conditions of
many insurers and, in some cases, the exact cost is not specified. These are charged over and above
any increase in premium due to a new postcode, or riskier occupation, and can be as much as £60
simply to amend an address. Swinton, which is a broker rather than an insurer, says that it's up to
the insurer whether to charge a fee for any policy amendments, but in your case it and the insurer
have agreed that a secretary and a PA amount to a change in job title rather than function and have
waived the second fee.
The Financial Ombudsman Service says that fees must reflect the actual work involved. It's hard to
see how a few taps to a keyboard can justify £39, so it is always worth complaining if you are hit
with such a levy. Insurers may well back down; otherwise, if you think it excessive, you can complain
to the ombudsman. Then shop around for an insurer that performs these services for free. Many do.
If you need help email Anna Tims at your.problems@observer.co.uk or write to Your Problems, The
Observer, Kings Place, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU. Include an address and phone number.
http://www.theguardian.com/money/2015/may/06/insurance-broker-swinton-admin-fees