Gosport MP Caroline Dinenage has heard from MoneySuperMarket that Gosport drivers are losing £2.08 million per year on their car insurance because of industry malpractice.
Research by price comparison website MoneySuperMarket found auto-renewal of car insurance policies is costing UK drivers £1.3 billion per year and that practices used by many insurers make it harder for consumers to get a better deal. The company’s report revealed that people often have no idea that they’re agreeing to auto-renewal when they first buy their policy. When renewal time arrives, the letter or email they get from their insurer can be confusing and misleading, and even conceal significant changes to their policy.
Caroline is calling on the Financial Conduct Authority to take decisive action to stop the auto-renewal rip-off. She wants the regulator to require insurers to clearly ask consumers whether they want to opt-in to auto-renewal when they first buy their policy and give clear information when it comes to renewal time.
Commenting on the revelations, Caroline said:
‘I think it is almost unimaginable that drivers in Gosport are losing the shocking sum of £2,080,770 because of unclear practices by the insurance industry. This is money that many can’t afford to waste. The regulator must take decisive action to put drivers back in control of their insurance. People shouldn’t have payments taken automatically from their accounts unless they have given their explicit consent. Insurers must do more to ensure it doesn’t happen.’
62 per cent of consumers say auto-renewals deter them from shopping around for a more affordable policy. Almost six million drivers (23 per cent) automatically renewed their car insurance with their existing provider when their policy was last up for renewal, without checking a single other quote.
You can read the full MoneySuperMarket report on auto-renewals here: http://www.moneysupermarket.com/images/content/MSM-AutoRenewals-Report.pdf.