I suspect I am not the only broker currently dealing with many irate over-75-year-olds calling at the office with their AXA motor renewal notices. The reason? Here are three recent (and very typical) ...
I suspect I am not the only broker currently dealing with many irate over-75-year-olds calling at the office with their AXA motor renewal notices. The reason? Here are three recent (and very typical) examples:
Mrs X. Age 79. Last year's AXA premium £259.54. This year's invited premium £427.98.
Mrs Y. Age 81. Last year's AXA premium £273.72. This year's invited premium £500.57.
Mr Z. Age 82. Last year's AXA premium £350.25. This year's invited premium £484.92.
All of the above examples are claim free for ten years plus and were not altered in any way in the past 12 months.
While we all appreciate the underwriter's concerns with this age group, and understand rates for this age group have perhaps in previous recent years been soft, I find AXA's current stance on these renewals particularly mercenary.
The fact that none of the companies (intermediary based or direct) is actively seeking this business means customers are unable to move elsewhere past the age of around 80.
It must be presumed the underwriters at AXA are also aware of this.
I fully appreciate that loss ratios will indicate the requirement of an increasing premium contribution from this age group. However, the seven other companies on our motor insurance panel are able to deal with similar cases, applying renewal increases appropriate to the risk, in a manner that enables us to reasonably explain the increase to our client.
It's an old cliche but, if AXA's underwriters had to deal face to face with the public, its handling of these renewals might be a little different. Premium increases of the size indicated above might appear to some to be the result of the removal of any alternative avenues for the customer, and the subsequent issuing of licence to print (the customer's) money.
Particularly galling is the fact that two or three years previous AXA took on these risks at very competitive rates. The drivers are not much older, but are now at the mercy of the AXA underwriters. No quarter is given.
Name and address withheld
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