Insurance Premiums

CarrieAnn_3

Hi There,

I took an insurance policy out for my small business; it hasbeen 8 months and they have not taken any payment for the premiums. I have anaccountant, so do not go through by bank statements with a fine toothcomb, andhave therefore not noticed the payments, in this case, not being debited from myaccount.

They have now realised their error, and 8 months down theline they have requested that I pay the back date of premiums.

When questioning how they have not noticed that thesepayments have been missed, they retorted that ‘I should have noticed and gottenin touch’.

In my opinion it’s a catch 22; I have not noticed, nor havethey. However, can they now (legally) request a back payment of these premiums?

Any help would be greatly appreciated as it’s quite a heftypayment they are requesting.

Thanks!

sarahg1969

Yes, they can. You've agreed a price for the cover, so you owe them the money. If you're struggling, why not contact them to see if you can pay by instalments?

InsideInsurance

Of cause they can ask for it as you legally owe them for what you have bought.

The fact that they've made a mistake normally means they will be more reasonable about repayment (ie not ask for the missed payments to be paid in one go) but most insurers will be keen to ensure the payments are completed by the end of the policy, partially to avoid having to deal with annual statements if they have given you credit and secondly its hard to get money from people when your providing insurance let alone after the policy has already lapsed

*Scarlett

If you had needed to claim I'm sure you would be saying something different.

As it stands, it looks as if you want to have 8 months free cover.

dunstonh

1 - you have a contract for supply of goods and services
2 - you have a direct debit to pay for them which never got activated.

The payment method doesnt affect the contract. There is no catch 22. No grey area. You have a contract where the payment is now in arrears and are legally required to pay them. If you dont then they can void the policy requiring you to declare this on future proposals for the rest of time which would see other providers refuse to offer cover or increase their premiums due to increased risk. They can also come after you for the unpaid premium that should have been paid up to that point. If you are self employed, that could go against your personal credit record. If you are limited company then they can take it to court.

You should always check your statements and not leave it to your accountant. Twice in the last 3 years my business account has had fraudulent transactions on it due to cloned card/stolen card details. These need to be caught ASAP. Your method could leave you open to all sorts of issues.

CarrieAnn_3

Guys,

Thanks for the responses. I understand that the contract required to pay, and it was not a post to try and 'scam the system' in any way... It's just I cannot afford to pay the backdate of payments they want within the next few weeks. They have offered a payment schedule - which is two installments which is still a fairly hefty amount, especially in this climate.

Thank you for all responses and help.

rs65

CarrieAnn wrote: »

They have offered a payment schedule - which is two installments which is still a fairly hefty amount, especially in this climate.

You might be able to stretch it a bit but I'm sure they will want the premium paid before this policy year finishes.