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25 Aug, 15 Beware of Auto-renewal trap

 

Auto-renewal trap could cost 5.8m motorists up to £1.2bn a year*

As peak insurance renewal season approaches – research reveals that 18% of drivers allow their car insurance to auto-renew without checking other quotes

  • Half of all drivers don’t bother to check last year’s premium to see how it has changed;
  • 31% of drivers have been with the same insurer for three years or more;
  • On average, UK drivers have been with current insurer 3.3 years.

Gocompare.com’s Car Insurance Auto-Renewal Survey reveals that 5.8 million motorists a year fall into the auto-renewal trap by simply allowing their car insurance to automatically renew without checking other quotes first.

September is traditionally one of the busiest months for car insurance renewals due to the high volume of new car sales. However, the new survey shows that many drivers are likely to fall in the auto-renewal trap. Worryingly, 18% say they allowed their car insurer to automatically roll-over their policy for another year at their last renewal – without checking whether they were being offered a good deal.

Gocompare.com’s Car Insurance Auto-Renewal Survey also revealed that on average, drivers have been with their current insurer for 3.3 years, but a 16% have stuck with the same provider for five years or more. However, many of those surveyed don’t feel insurance companies reward them for their loyalty, 58% think that insurers offer a better deal to new customers than those who renew.

When asked why they allowed their car insurance to renew automatically 39% thought that because their provider was the cheapest last year, they would be good value this time around too. Other reasons for sticking with the same provider included loyalty (24%), a good experience with a past claim (11%) while 5% said that they weren’t confident enough to switch, finding car insurance too confusing.

The survey also questioned drivers about the renewal information they receive from providers, revealing that many drivers find renewal letters tricky to understand and lacking key information:

  • 37% said that insurance renewal packs should be easier to understand;
  • 47% want insurers to make it clearer how much their renewal has increased by compared with last year;
  • 39% don’t know exactly how much they paid for their insurance last year;
  • Only 50% check last year’s premium to see how it has changed;
  • Just over a third (34%) check their renewal documents for any changes to the cover provided;
  • 28% of those surveyed said that they felt under pressure to renew with their existing provider;
  • 24% said that insurance companies use underhand tactics to get you to renew with them.

When specifically told that their policy will be automatically renewed but some elements of cover are changing 14% ignore it and assume nothing very important will have changed.

Matt Oliver, from Gocompare.com Car Insurance, commented: “New registration plates are issued in March and September, making them the busiest months for car insurance quotes and renewals. The car insurance market is fiercely competitive and insurers often offer better deals to new customers than for those renewing existing policies.

“So, our advice is simple – even if your current insurer offered the best deal last year, you shouldn’t automatically assume that they will when your policy comes up for renewal. Use your renewal letter as a prompt to take action. Look at your renewal notice as soon as it arrives. Compare the price and cover against last year’s documents, consider any changes you might need to make to the cover and take a look at similar policies on a comparison site to see if you can make any savings.

“It only takes about five minutes to compare over 120 car insurance brands on Gocompare.com and 51% of customers using our site could save up to £208** – making that five minutes time well spent. A couple of hundred quid saved on your insurance goes a long way towards paying for other motoring costs, for example car tax, servicing and fuel.”

Matt Oliver concluded: “If you decide to switch, don’t forget to notify your current provider. Most policies automatically renew, unless you tell the insurer otherwise within the 14 day cooling off period. Miss the cut-off date and you could face hefty cancellation charges.”

-ends-

For further information please contact:

Anders Nilsson, Kath Chadwick or Martyn John at Gocompare.com on 01633 654 054 / 01633 655 209 / 01633 654 725

Gordon, Jason or Liz at MAW Communications on 01603 505 845

Notes to editors:

*According to the National Travel Survey, in 2013 there were 32m drivers in the UK. According to our survey, 18% of motorists auto-renewed their car insurance policy at the last renewal. Therefore; 18% of 32,000,000 motorists = 5,760,000 (5.8m) who auto-renewed.

**Based on independent research by Consumer Intelligence during 01 July 2015 to 31 July 2015. 51% of consumers could achieve a saving of up to £208.46 with Gocompare.com car insurance based on a comparison of at least 39 companies.

5.8m drivers x Gocompare.com’s average shop around saving of £208 = £1.2bn

On 17 August 2015, Bilendi conducted an online survey among 1,470 randomly selected British adults who are Maximiles UK panelists and are motorists. The margin of error-which measures sampling variability-is +/- 2.2%. The results have been statistically weighted according to the most current education, age, gender and regional data to ensure samples representative of the entire adult population of United Kingdom. Discrepancies in or between totals are due to rounding.

Gocompare.com is a comparison website that enables people to compare the costs and features of a wide variety of insurance policies, financial products and energy tariffs. Gocompare.com does not charge consumers to use its services, and it does not accept advertising or sponsored listings, so all product comparisons are unbiased. Gocompare.com makes its money through fees paid by the providers of products that appear on its various comparison services when a customer buys through the site. Gocompare.com does not sell its customers’ data.

When it launched in 2006, it was the first comparison site to focus on displaying policy details, rather than just listing prices, with the aim of helping consumers to make better-informed decisions when buying their insurance. Gocompare.com has remained dedicated to helping people choose the most appropriate products rather than just the cheapest and has teamed up with Defaqto, the independent financial researcher, to integrate additional product information into a number of its insurance comparison services, allowing its customers to compare up to an extra 30 features of cover.

Gocompare.com was founded by Hayley Parsons OBE, who has spent her entire career in the insurance industry. The company is based in Newport, South Wales, where it employs over 200 people.

esure Services Limited has a 50% shareholding in Gocompare.com Holdings Limited, the holding company of Gocompare.com Limited, and Gocompare.com maintains operational control and functions autonomously. The remainder of the shares are held by Hayley Parsons (23%), external shareholders, and staff.

In December 2014 it was announced that long-standing shareholder esure has agreed to acquire the remaining 50% in Gocompare.com that it does not already own. The deal, which is subject to Competition and Markets Authority approval, is expected to complete in the first quarter of 2015.

Gocompare.com is the only price comparison site to be invited to join the British Insurance Brokers’ Association (BIBA) and is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).