Cooling Off Period for Car Insurance?

Ellieseleven

I wonder if anyone can help me with the following issue?

10 weeks ago two lads driving a stolen car which was being chased by a police car collided with me causing damage to my front wing on the drivers side. I had 3 witnesses to this incident and I informed my insurance company and gave the details. 8 weeks later I was still waiting for them to repair the damage but they then sent me my insurance renewal which had increased by £180 per year.

I then shopped around to try and find a better quote and Swinton seemed to come out top. I went into our local branch and filled in the details for an accurate quote. I was asked the question as to how many claims I had over the last 5 years and explained that I had the one that was ongoing and another for theft in the past but that I wasn't sure of how long ago it was. The girl helping me said that nothing was showing up so thought that it must have been longer than 5 years ago.

They quoted me £522 per year but this included £540 cash back so the total was 1062 with £98 deposit and £95.55 per month for ten months which I agreed to.

Today, I have had a call from Swinton to say that I haven't declared the theft and that it was in fact Jan 2009 so my policy is void and in order to insure my car I must now pay £116 per month, a £50 cancellation fee for the first policy and I also lose the £98 deposit that I paid in the first place and the cash back amount is now £300

This seems very unfair as I did try to declare the theft and neither incident was my fault.

I asked about a cooling off period as this insurance only started on Monday but was told that this did not apply

Can anyone throw any light on whether this is in fact true or do I just have to accept what the insurance company tells me?

dunstonh

If you are not happy then you should complain.

You get a cooling off period but it does not entitle you to free cover. You have to pay pro-rata for period of cover provided and they can charge a cancellation fee.

InsideInsurance

A cooling off period is simply a period in which you CAN cancel, there is nothing to say that it is fee free or without charge for time on cover. After the cooling off period there is no automatic right to a cancellation though in practice insurers typically allow you to cancel the main policy but not cancel the add ons like Legal Expenses.

However, if you did advise them of it and they've told you not to worry about it then you evidently have grounds for complaint when they later decide that it is something to worry about. The natural issue is going to be that as it is done in person it may become one persons word against anothers as there are no call recordings or input forms etc saved.

For future reference, most here would rather botulism than dealing with Swintons

Ellieseleven

Thanks for your answers, I have been into a branch and managed to get £55 back from the original £98 and they have also waived the cancellation fee.

Reference to botulism duly noted

Thanks again
Ellie