Cancelling car insurance

ross1012

I crashed my car into the back of someone about a week before christmas, and managed to do enough damage to my car (the other car was fine- it was a 4x4 and I hit their bloody tow bar) to call it a write off. The other woman has claimed on my policy, and as I am moving to London in a month and so will not need another car I decided to cancel my car insurance. I have been paying in monthly installments since last August (just over half way through the payments); when I called to cancel they told me that as I have made a claim against the policy I now have to pay the rest, including the interest charge for paying it monthly! Can they do this? They have told me I owe £276 which is ridiculous, I really cannot afford it.

jamesb1239

Unfortunately if you have made a claim within the insurable period then the whole years premium becomes payable, not only that but you will have a nice premium increase when you take out car insurance again in the next few years. Its the same with home insurance

iceicebaby

As above. As a claim has been made the whole premium is due.

McKneff

Lets put it another way,

If you paid your whole premium up front, then claimed on it 6 months later you wouldnt expect to get half your premium cash back, would you.

You insure against an event, the event has happened, insurance pays out, end of.

Seemples.

dunstonh

when I called to cancel they told me that as I have made a claim against the policy I now have to pay the rest, including the interest charge for paying it monthly! Can they do this?

Car insurance is an annual contract. You pay for it to cover you for any events in the next 12 months. You had an event and have claimed on the policy. Therefore the insurance has served its purpose.

Your problem is that you are using a credit agreement to pay for that annual premium and as you are not all the way through, the have to keep paying it until the year is up.

Most insurers will allow you to transfer the policy to a new car but if you cancel you will, quite correctly, not get any premium back.

They have told me I owe £276 which is ridiculous, I really cannot afford it.

How were you able to afford it when you had the car then?