DRN-6171519

The complaint Mr F has complained that he paid a higher premium when he removed one of two vehicles from cover before the renewal date of his car insurance policy. Mr F renewed his policy with NATIONAL FARMERS UNION MUTUAL INSURANCE SOCIETY LIMITED (THE) trading as NFU Mutual (NFU). What happened Mr F bought a car insurance policy with the insurer NFU which was due to renew in November 2025. Before the renewal date, NFU provided Mr F with a quote for cover for two cars for the following year. Mr F called NFU to insure only one of the two cars before the renewal date. NFU recalculated the premium for the remaining car, based on the change in risk. This resulted in the net premium for the remaining car increasing by £24.83. Mr F paid the renewal premium, but he raised a complaint. He was unhappy with the explanation he’d been given by NFU as to why the premium for the remaining car had not remained the same as under the renewal invite. Mr F said he had paid the premium before the renewal date, and believed NFU should have honoured the premium offered before he removed the second car from cover. Mr F said the risk hadn’t changed. NFU upheld Mr F’s complaint in part as it said it should have better explained in the call the reason for the change in premium. But it said the recalculation was correct and provided its reasons for the increase. Mr F remained unhappy and asked us to look at his complaint. One of our Investigators thought NFU had done enough to resolve the complaint. Although it could have been clearer when Mr F called it, she found NFU had later properly explained why the premium increase was correct. And NFU had provided us with its pricing information to show it had treated Mr F fairly when applying it. Mr F disagrees and wants an ombudsman to decide. In summary he says; • NFU sent a renewal invite dated 27 September 2025 which Mr F says he didn’t receive until 20 October 2025. This was less than a month before the renewal date of 16 November 2025. Mr F believes NFU should have given him at least four weeks’ notice to allow him to make an informed decision. • NFU should have honoured the original renewal quote for the remaining car. • NFU’s agent couldn’t answer his questions about why the premium had changed. • Mr F disagrees that by removing one of the two cars this resulted in a change in risk for NFU. He believes NFU hasn’t treated him fairly.

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What I’ve decided – and why I’ve considered all the available evidence and arguments to decide what’s fair and reasonable in the circumstances of this complaint. As the Investigator explained, it isn’t for us to decide what an insurer charges – or to tell an insurer how to apply its ratings to risk. Each insurer’s appetite for risk is different. An insurer’s pricing information is commercially sensitive and so it cannot be shared in detail with customers. But we can ask an insurer to provide us with this information so we can check it has treated a customer fairly when setting a premium. When NFU replied to Mr F’s complaint, it explained that when it provided a renewal price for two cars, this took into account a multi vehicle discount. NFU said the risk ratings it applied took into account factors such as usage, driver profile and potential claims. So this meant it was not simply a matter of honouring the original net premium – as this was no longer correct and required recalculation. I understand Mr F disagrees that the risk for NFU changed. But this isn’t for Mr F to decide. This is up to NFU and we cannot interfere with how it decides to apply risk and ratings to the price it offers a customer. So I don’t find it unreasonable of NFU to have recalculated the premium when Mr F made the change to remove one of the cars from cover. I agree with Mr F that NFU should have been clearer in the call as to the reasons for the change in premium. However, I don’t find that this failure warrants an award of compensation. NFU provided an explanation when it replied to his complaint before the renewal date. And I haven’t found that NFU has treated Mr F unfairly in recalculating the renewal premium. Although not part of Mr F’s original complaint, even if Mr F received the renewal invite on 20 October 2025, this was over three weeks before the renewal date of 16 November 2025. And so in line with industry practice, NFU gave Mr F sufficient time to make an informed decision before the renewal date. I understand Mr F will be disappointed with my decision. But I find that NFU has shown it treated Mr F fairly and as it would any other customer in the same circumstances when calculating his premium at renewal. So this means I’m not upholding his complaint. My final decision For the reasons I’ve given above, my final decision is that I don’t uphold this complaint. Under the rules of the Financial Ombudsman Service, I’m required to ask Mr F to accept or reject my decision before 14 May 2026. Geraldine Newbold Ombudsman

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