Cancelled Policy

elephant12

Hi all,

this is the story, i was in an accident and my car got written off. however, my insurance company started asking questions as to whether or not i was using the car for business use. after i explained i wasnt, they reluctantly said they would pay out.

then, they told me that my no claims bonus of 9 years was already used on another vehicle and i wasn't allowed to do this (this was something i really hadn't realised). my premium went up and i had to pay the extra. my policy was cancelled and then i was paid out.

initially, i thought nothing of this, but now when i try to insure my new vehicle, i have to answer yes to "have you ever had insurance cancelled, etc" and my premium is crazy high. is there any way around this?

kingstreet

Why was the policy cancelled?

If it was only as a result of the write-off, you should not have to disclose it as a cancellation.

If it was as a result of the "no claims" issue, it becomes a bit more murky.

As they settled the claim after you paid them the increased premium resulting from the inability to use your no claims, I suspect the former applies. Policies end at/following the settlement of a write-off, they aren't cancelled. Ask them, if in doubt.

elephant12

kingstreet wrote: »

Why was the policy cancelled?

If it was only as a result of the write-off, you should not have to disclose it as a cancellation.

If it was as a result of the "no claims" issue, it becomes a bit more murky.

As they settled the claim after you paid them the increased premium resulting from the inability to use your no claims, I suspect the former applies. Policies end at/following the settlement of a write-off, they aren't cancelled. Ask them, if in doubt.

Hi, thank you for replying. I was thinking the exact same thing as you have just outlined, and I do think the policy had simply ended. I was paying monthly and had to pay off about another £200 before they paid out. It's just that a letter came saying "We're cancelling your policy, please return the insurance certificate within 7 days", etc.

kingstreet

I would ask them to put in writing the reasons for the cancellation.

If this isn't forthcoming, or it suggests some impropriety on your part, consider making a complaint and escalating to FOS if no satisfactory answer is received within the eight week deadline.

From what you've said, you don't deserve to be blighted by a cancellation because of a simple misunderstanding over NCD use. The mistake was notified to you and you rectified it by making up the premiums which would have been due.

Quentin

elephant12 wrote: »

... It's just that a letter came saying "We're cancelling your policy, please return the insurance certificate within 7 days", etc.

Read up in your policy and see what they say happens after a total loss payout. If they say that a total loss means the policy ends, then this is nothing to worry about, and will not need disclosing as a cancelled policy.

elephant12

Quentin wrote: »

Read up in your policy and see what they day happens after a total loss payout. If they say that a total loss means the policy ends, then this is nothing to worry about, and will not need disclosing as a cancelled policy.

It just says, "In the event of your car being written off, you will have 30 days in which to replace the car or the policy will be cancelled". Dammit, I don't know whether they wrote about cancellation 30 days after or earlier.

Quentin

That will be what all this is about.

Don't worry!

elephant12

Quentin wrote: »

That will be what all this is about.

Don't worry!

I hope so, I will go through all the letters they've sent when I get a chance, hopefully, one of the letters will point out exactly the reason for the cancellation. If I have to contact them to find out, I'm worried that they might then turn around and use it as an excuse to say, "yeah it's the no claims thing that's causing this"

Also, if I used a comparison site with "Yes, I have had it cancelled" as my answer, will the insurance companies know and record this?

Quentin

They paid up your claim, so they were happy with you!

Having a policy cancelled following a total loss claim in line with the policy ts + cs isn't anything to worry about, and you shouldn't say "yes". Expect everything you put in your quote application to be recorded!