New home and car insurance rules mean change in prices

Kevin Peachey is a writer.
Personal finance correspondent.

The image is from the same source.

New rules coming into effect on 1 January will cause prices for home and motor insurance to change.

Under the regulations of the Financial Conduct Authority, anyone renewing their policy will pay no more than they would as a new customer.

Those who switch frequently will pay more, while long-standing customers will pay less.

The move would save customers billions of dollars.

Brian Brown, consumer finance expert at market analysts Defaqto, said there was no sign of insurers leaving the market as a result, meaning customers still had plenty of choice of products.

The policy is designed to end cases of "price walking", which is when a customer is charged more year after year, by staying with the same insurance company, even though their risk is no greater.

When announcing its plans, the FCA pointed to an example in which a new customer for home insurance would typically pay over a hundred dollars for a year's cover.

For the same policy, the annual premium went up to $238.

New customers pay an average of more than three times as much as people who have been with their provider for more than five years.

The new rules will be brought in by the FCA in the new year, following a complaint from Citizens Advice.

New customers who switched received the best deals. Those who were loyal were charged more.

Ten million policies across home and motor insurance are held by people who have been with their provider for at least five years.

Consumers are paying over the odds for too long because of rip-off renewal prices. You can't be exploited just for being loyal.

He said that people were more likely to be at a disadvantage if they were older, had lower incomes or couldn't access the internet.

The new rules on home and motor insurance are bold. We need to protect consumers in the other markets.

People can still find the best deals, but they will need to consider whether the policy matches their requirements.

The premiums charged to all renewing home and private motor insurance customers by their insurance provider cannot be greater than the price they would charge to an equivalent new customer.

Individual premiums can be set at different levels depending on factors such as a customer's age, type of vehicle, driving record and history of claims.

The Association of British Insurers believes that all customers should be treated fairly in the UK's competitive home and motor insurance markets.

The new rules require insurers to look more closely at how they offer fair value for consumers.

It should be easier for consumers to cancel automatic policy renewals, and home and motor insurance firms must report more data to the regulators.

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