Cancelling or changing car insurance

zanesue

I am wanting to change my car, I currently have a very old car with 3rd party insurance, I am changing to a newer car worth aprox £5000 so want to change my cover to fully comp.

My current policy runs until the end of April and The problem is I have an ongoing claim for an accident were fault is being disputed back in June.

I rang the broker to discuss changing the policy (have to go through the broker can't deal directly with my insurance company!)
I was quoted £500 for upgrading the rest of the policy until end of April and approx £2000 for renewal after April.

I have found quotes online for around £900 for a year declaring the accident and the fact that it is unsettled.

Can I cancel my exsisting policy and start a new one or do I have to stay with my insurer until the claim is settled?

It would be cheaper for me to move even if I had to pay the rest of the monthly payments on the policy which are only £30 per month and a cancelation fee.

rudekid48

Be careful how you handle this. If you have got your new quote based on any no claims bonus then you will have a problem as your current insurer will not release any NCB until the claim is settled so you could find yourself in trouble if you cannot get proof.
Also, cancelling the policy now will still mean that you have to pay the full annual premium due to the claim.
If you want to cancel and go elsewhere, make sure you get a quote will NIL no claims bonus, that way you cannot have any problems down the line and when the claim is settled you may be able to get some of your money back if you get some NCB.

Quentin

rudekid48 wrote: »

........If you want to cancel and go elsewhere, make sure you get a quote will NIL no claims bonus......

This may not be the case:

1) If the op had more than 2 years NCD at the start of his current year.

2) If the op has protected NCD.

Quentin

zanesue wrote: »

Can I cancel my exsisting policy and start a new one or do I have to stay with my insurer until the claim is settled?

Yes you can cancel now and move elsewhere. You would have to pay up the policy for the year, (because of the claim), and no NCD would be awarded for the current year (irrespective of the outcome of the claim).

Your current insurer would provide you proof of your remaining NCD (after any reduction needed pending the resolution of the claim), and you can ask any new insurer to agree to adjust your premium should your NCD be reinstated once the claim is settled.

zanesue

Thank you for advice.
I have six years protected no claims.
I owe about £120 on the policy, It would be cheaper for me to pay this and a cancelation fee and re insure with someone else but wasn't sure if it was possible to do this.
My other option is to try and get my old car through its Mot in March but then I would still have the problem at having to pay over £2000 which is what the broker (direct choice) quoted to renew, They didn't say if this was with my current insurer and I forgot to ask they just said I was looking at around £2000

rudekid48

Quentin wrote: »

This may not be the case:

1) If the op had more than 2 years NCD at the start of his current year.

2) If the op has protected NCD.

Sorry Quentin, but the point that I was making was that the Insurer will be unlikely to release NCB proof until the claim is settled as liability has not yet been agreed. Protection is not relevant to this as the outcome of the claim still has a bearing.

Quentin

rudekid48 wrote: »

Sorry Quentin, but the point that I was making was that the Insurer will be unlikely to release NCB proof until the claim is settled as liability has not yet been agreed. Protection is not relevant to this as the outcome of the claim still has a bearing.

No.

The insurer will "release" the proof of NCB as long as the policy is cancelled, and all charges have been paid.

As the liability is not yet settled, then the NCB level will be as if it had been settled as the OP's fault.

As the OP has protected NCD, then just one "life" will be lost, though this would subsequently be reinstated should the insurer get all their costs back off the third party, and the claim would be recorded as "no-fault".