The car insurance industry earns £333m per year from making simple amendments to policy details, switching service uSwitch has found.

Research from the website found that motorists are being charged an average fee of £22 for small transactions such as cancellations, making duplicate documents and amending policy details including address and vehicle details.

An estimated 14 million people make changes to their policy each year, collectively earning the car insurance industry £333m. uSwitch has called for consumer protection against excessive fees and charges within the car insurance industry, saying that some form of regulation should be introduced.

Ashton Berkhauer, insurance expert at uSwitch, said: “Without any regulation existing in the market around fees, the insurance industry can charge what they like. It is vital that consumers are made aware of these fees and that the insurance industry is made to review and justify their validity. These ‘hidden charges’ and cancellation fees certainly seem excessive and there is a clear need to reinstate the rules around what is a fair charge to really put consumers needs first.”