Can I change car Insurance within 12 months?

dad_researcher

This may be a silly question but I am just starting the very long road of trying to get ourselves out of debt and have realised that by just renewing our Insurance we are probably paying way over what we could pay. I currently have two insurances running (both with More Than) one for our car and one for my husbands work van both a good few months into their 12 month span, paying by monthly direct debit.
Can I quit these and take out new insurance or am I tied in?

Quentin

You can quit both policies, but enquire how much this will cost - and see if the cost of cancelling (which will be significant) still makes this a cost effective plan.

_Andy_

dad_researcher wrote: »

This may be a silly question but I am just starting the very long road of trying to get ourselves out of debt and have realised that by just renewing our Insurance we are probably paying way over what we could pay. I currently have two insurances running (both with More Than) one for our car and one for my husbands work van both a good few months into their 12 month span, paying by monthly direct debit.
Can I quit these and take out new insurance or am I tied in?

Have you rung them and asked?

dad_researcher

Thanks for the replies. No I havent rung them, I wasnt sure if it was something I was able do even do. So I think best decision will be to ring and find out how much it would cost then see if I could get more than that back by using a price comparison site. Any other suggestions?

vaio

no need to ring, the cancellation fee will be detailed in your policy.

also, don't forget if you cancel you'll get no NCB for this year

Quentin

vaio wrote: »

no need to ring, the cancellation fee will be detailed in your policy......

When you cancel mid term, the cancellation "fee" only forms a part of the charges that get applied, which is why the OP is advised to first get the total cost of cancelling from the insurer before making a decision. (Other charges can include final premium - which is not "pro rata" when you cancel mid term, add ons (normally have to be paid in full), brokers fees, discount clawback and cashback clawback etc)

vaio

good point, but I'd assumed in the interests of transparency and fairness that those charges would also be detailed in the policy documentation

isn't the FOS view that cancellation costs should be broadly pro rata for time on cover plus an admin fee?

Quentin

The premium cost of cancelling is nowhere near "true" pro rata - were it so, then there would be no need to ever buy expensive short term cover!

See all the anguished posts from folk faced with far more than the £55 cancellation fee that regularly feature in this forum!

vaio

Quentin wrote: »

The premium cost of cancelling is nowhere near "true" pro rata - were it so, then there would be no need to ever buy expensive short term cover!

See all the anguished posts from folk faced with far more than the £55 cancellation fee that regularly feature in this forum!

well, that's not the FOS view as I read it....

http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/publications/ombudsman-news/54/insurance.htm

seems quite keen on pro rata

Quentin

Nevertheless, virtually the only true pro rata you ever see get charged is for cancellation during the first 14 days.

Apart from that, the "pro rata" charge usually works out that the shorter the period under cover, the more expensive the premium is as far as pro rata is concerned!

vaio

which I guess is why the advice to posters like.......

Quentin wrote: »

........See all the anguished posts from folk faced with far more than the £55 cancellation fee that regularly feature in this forum!

is to complain and refer to the FOS if the insurers are trying to charge significantly more than pro rata