The entire process involves a human and technical chain that doesn’t come cheap – from the person who prints your policy, puts it in an envelope and posts it, to the actual postal costs, and let’s not forget the paper and ink needed to produce the document in the first place. Scale it all up for an insurance provider dealing with tens of thousands of policy holders and you can see why you might have to pay for the privilege.

As unfair as you may think it sounds, insurance providers have had to become increasingly competitive when it comes to the price of premiums; as a result, traditional admin costs that may have been included within the premium have been stripped out to give consumers a leaner, more attractive price. But those costs haven’t simply disappeared. Most insurance providers have just started charging for it directly. Look on the bright side – at least it’s a more transparent way of charging for things.