The spotlight has once again fallen on the UK’s
home insurance industry with controversy continuing to swirl around the sector.
After reports last year of overcharging in the sector, the issue was once again thrust into the spotlight last night with a senior MP calling on the Business Secretary to address the issue – and Ofgem boss Dermot Nolan suggesting that home insurers are hitting customers with penalties for their loyalty, even more so than utility giants.
In an
article in The Sun, Nolan was quoted as telling MPs that “in the home insurance market the penalties for not switching are relatively and significantly more onerous than they would be for energy.”
The comments come on the back of a campaign by the newspaper which called on the government to end what it has dubbed a “loyalty tax” on British families within the insurance sector – according to its research, homeowners are paying an average of £110 more for home insurance when they don’t change providers. Indeed in 2015, the city watchdog issued a warning that customers that don’t switch pay an average of 70% more.
Speaking to the publication, Labour chair of the cross-party Business and Energy Select Committee Rachel Reeves said she would be writing to the Business Secretary about the matter and calling on the Government to ensure a fairer deal for customers.
However, as insurance professionals what do you think of the accusations aimed at the industry? Leave a comment below with your thoughts.
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