Insurance Company won't cover my new car. Can they really charge me for canx?

taliwillow

Hello,

I am looking at getting a new car and I am 5 months into my current insurance policy. My husband has just cancelled his insurance with them for various reasons and they charged him a £52 cancellation fee. My question is that as I would more than happily keep my insurance with them if they were willing to cover me on the new car (which they aren't due to my age - but there are lots of other companies out there who will cover me) then isn't it a bit cheeky of them to say well if you want to change your car then we will have to charge you £50 to do so. I know it also means I will lose the months towards my next years no claims bonus so I could really do without the charge. What do you all think?

Just to point out, I will pay the charge if I have to but just think it's a bit cheeky of them to say we won't insure you but we will charge you to cancel so wondered if they can actually do this.

Thanks

Taliwillow

lisyloo

To be honest I think it's a bit cheeky if you expect an open ended commitment from them to cover you for ANY car you choose.

The fee is probably an admin fee, so I don't think there is any way round it because they WILL incurr some costs in stopping your insurance early (they have to at the very least get someone to press a button on the computer to deal with your correspondance).

You could potentially argue that the fee is not reasonable, but I would have thought that £35 (ish) is reasonable so you would be have a protracted argument about a few quid.

Sorry to sound harsh, but you signed up for a 1 year contract and they made their calculations quoted you on the basis that they would receive 12 months of business.
If you are going to change your end of the bargain and it's going to cost them money, then it's hardly suprising that they would want you to cover some of that costs.

DavidHM

Maybe they could charge but it's unusual for them to do so when the reason is that the car doesn't meet the underwriting criteria. Obviously if the poster just decided she had had enough and was off somehwere else then the cancellation fee would be normal but generally, when the car is the issue, they will waive the fee.