RE: Bad Press for SAGA Insurance, amongst others20 Jun 2022 00:41
For example, Margaret Armitage, from Tunbridge Wells in Kent, was told her car insurance premium with Saga would be increasing this month from £302 to more than £510 – a jump of nearly 69 per cent. She drives a Vauxhall Corsa and does less than 3,000 miles a year. Margaret, in her early 80s, rang the company to complain about the price hike. She got nowhere. 'I'm a big fan of Saga and have gone on Saga holidays, but I was annoyed, especially when it said it could do nothing to cut the premium I had been offered,' she says.
She then put her insurance details into a comparison website and came up with cover from Saga as a new customer for £394 – a saving of £116 on her renewal quote. She couldn't believe it, although she opted for an even cheaper deal from AA at £273. On Friday, Saga insisted Margaret's renewal price was 'fair and accurate'. It said the increase was down to 'several factors, including the current rate of inflation'. [Note to Saga: inflation is currently running at 9 per cent, not 69 per cent].
On the cheaper price that Margaret was offered as a new Saga customer through website Go Compare, it said this was in part explained by the 'policy cover and terms being different from the renewal quote'.
Saga also said the new customer quote was 'sourced through a different channel' to the one Margaret originally used to buy her Saga cover – she purchased it direct.
Under the FCA rules, insurers are (bizarrely) allowed to vary the premiums for identical policies according to how they are offered – direct, through a comparison website, or under different brands.
Consumer champion James Daley, founder of website Fairer Finance, says this provides a get-out for insurers. 'It shouldn't matter what channel a customer uses,' he says. 'The price should be the same. A renewal price should match that offered to a new customer wanting identical cover, irrespective of what channel they use.'
Saga said that customers should phone its call centre to discuss their renewal. It added: 'We can often help customers save money on their insurance by talking through their policy needs, and we know helping to save money wherever possible is important in the current cost-of-living crisis.' It's what Margaret did. She got nowhere.
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