no claims void if gap in insurance???

Tracey555

My partners son insured his own car for just over a year without incident - thus earing himself 12 months no claims. He then couldn't afford to keep the car on the road so had no insurance for 2 months. His Dad then helped him out and took out a policy on-line where he had to pay £250 upfront, the premiums were then to be £145 per month.
After forwarding the details of the previous no claims to the company they have said that they are void as he did not have insurance for more than 28 days. The new premiums will therefore be £366, which he cannot afford.
They are also saying that if the policy is now cancelled, cancellation fees must be paid, even though he only took the policy out on 26th oct.
Is this right?

Quentin

It depends on the insurers ts + cs.

Check what they say about accepting "old" NCD which has been earned elsewhere.

As far as cancellation fees etc are concerned, these too will be set out in the ts + cs, but it is the norm to have to pay these.

hellokitty08

thought they were valid for two years for most places, guess it depends, i didnt use mine once for 10 months and them used the again with no probs.

lisyloo

Generally it's 2 years.
However it sounds like this insurer has a 28 day policy.

Yes you have to pay the cancellation fees if you cancel.
Sorry if it sounds harsh but the acceptance of the NCD should have been checked up front rather than assumed although 2 years is the norm.

dogbot

It will almost certainly be cheaper to cancel, pay the fee, and find another insurer, given the differentials. They key is to search the price comparison websites then call the top insurers and ask if they will honor the NCD. You might also negotiate a further discount!

vaio

lisyloo wrote: »

Generally it's 2 years.
However it sounds like this insurer has a 28 day policy.

Yes you have to pay the cancellation fees if you cancel.
Sorry if it sounds harsh but the acceptance of the NCD should have been checked up front rather than assumed although 2 years is the norm.

If the 28 day policy is clear in their terms & conditions then there isn't much you can do about it, if it's not clear then complain

More importantly, there is something strange about the figures quoted.

If the price has gone up from £145 to £366 that’s equivalent to a 60% discount being disallowed which as the OP only had 1 year NCB sounds wrong