Car insurance

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  • Third party, fire & theft cover
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  • 24/7 telephone support for new claims

FCA Pricing Practices

How the latest FCA Pricing Practices could impact your car insurance

The changes in regulations, that apply to insurance providers from the 1st January 2022 mean that;

  • If you are already a customer, your motor renewal price will be the same as or lower than an equivalent price for a new customer.
  • For most general insurance policies, you’ll have the ability to opt out of auto-renewal at any point during your cover term.
  • Insurers must make it clear where the cost of your insurance will be higher if you pay monthly than if you pay annually.

We have included a Q&A below to give you more information relating to how the FCA pricing practices may impact you.

It's possible, as the guidelines mean the price to renew your cover will be the same as or lower than the equivalent price for a new customer. As a result of the new guidelines, we expect overall prices for new customers to rise across the whole industry, and renewal prices to come down overall. That doesn't guarantee you'll see a drop in your price, partly because we'd already taken steps to limit price differences between new customers and those who are renewing their policy.

Also, we create our prices individually for each customer based on a whole range of factors. This is where our size and experience as an insurer really shines through, as we can use the information we've built up to match each customer's price to their specific circumstances. So we're confident that we price each quote accurately, both for our new customers and those who are renewing with us.

There could be a whole number of different reasons, including, but not limited to, the new regulations which affect all insurance providers.

As we're part of Aviva, one of the UK's largest insurers, we have access to a huge amount of knowledge and data, painting a detailed picture of what the risks are and how these change from year to year, and from area to area. We have confidence that our customers' premiums are both accurate and up-to-date, and may mean you see differences in your price as these risks change.

Prices don’t always change because of something you’ve done. For example, more overall claims in your postcode during the last year could have made your price go up. There are also external factors – such as a changing claims market, more expensive repairs, severe weather, inflation, and changes in law – that might mean your insurance costs more.

As we're part of Aviva, one of the UK's largest insurers, we're confident that we price our customers' premiums accurately. This is down to the huge amount of information we have, which is constantly updated.

The new regulations mean that insurers, including us, have had to change how prices are calculated. As a result, we expect overall prices for new customers to rise across the whole industry, and renewal prices to come down overall. The biggest difference is likely to be in the first renewal after the change of regulations. This doesn't necessarily mean that your renewal price will be lower, as there are other factors at work – such as a changing claims market, more expensive repairs, severe weather, inflation, and changes in law – even if you haven't made changes to your policy.

No. Your renewal price will be the same as or lower than an equivalent price for a new customer, in line with the latest guidelines. A loyalty penalty would mean that your renewal price would be higher than an equivalent price for a new customer.

We welcome these changes to the regulations, as it should mean better outcomes for our customers who choose to renew their policy with us.

We offer you our most accurate price for the specific insurance policy you choose, and we're confident that we have priced it correctly, thanks to the data we have as one of the UK's largest insurers.

It's also worth remembering that not all insurance is the same, and cheaper is not always better. Our price may be different because of the level of cover you have with us.

No. Price walking would be where your premium goes up at renewal rather than in line with changes to your risk. The new regulations mean that your renewal price will be the same as or lower than the equivalent price for a new customer, which helps prevent price walking.

If there's a sizeable difference between your renewal price and the new customer quote price you received from us online, it's worth checking that your new quote includes all the same cover as your current policy. You must make sure any quote meets your needs. If you're already insured with us, you can review and make changes to your existing cover at any time.

There are other factors that could result in different prices. For example, on the day we calculate your renewal price, usually 30 days before your policy ends, we check it against the equivalent price for a new customer. If you get a new customer price at a later date, prices may have changed since the original calculation date.

You can always get a quote from other insurers. Just make sure you check that any quote meets your needs. If you are already insured with us, you can review and make changes to your existing cover at any time.

No, your rights have not been affected by this decision. If your complaint is ongoing, there shouldn’t be any different to how it’s handled. If it’s already been closed, there’s more information about this in the communication we sent your after we closed your complaint.

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