A study has revealed that that some car insurers charge as much £25 administrative fees for changing an address or adding a second named driver. This is outside of the car insurance premium costs that are added for making the change.

The Confused.com study also showed that drivers are not happy with the additional charges, which they said were unnecessary.

AA charges the highest admin fees at £25, followed by Churchill with £21, eSure (£20), More Than (£15) and Admiral & Diamond (£14.50), said Confused. But Zurich, RAC Direct and Hastings do not make additional admin charges.

Spokesperson for Confused.com, Jennifer Rose said that policyholders normally expect premiums to rise when they make certain changes or when they add a new driver. But what they often regard as premium hike in this situation is more of an admin charge.

“Insurance call centres can make policy changes at the touch of a button, so why are customers charged these high fees when there is effectively no admin involved?” she queried.

However, eSure reacted through its spokesperson saying that they write customers to inform them their policy changes would attract fees and that their agents were happy to explain the proportion in relation to the additional premium. Admin fees, the spokesperson said, are charged to cover the costs incurred as a result of the changes.

“For example, if you were to change car, we have to reassess the risk of your vehicle, collect the additional premium via the bank or credit card, then print, pack and post a new schedule and certificate of insurance,” eSure explained.

The spokesperson added that in addition to all the above processes, there is also the issue of time taken to take the calls and enter the new information.