Should car insurers be banned from auto-renewing?

TBagpuss

I don't like auto-renewal, and I think it is often yused by insurers as a way of increasing premiums by stealth.

I would not argue for a total ban, as I think that penelises those who prefer to do it this way, but I think that there should be strictly enforced rules about it - maybe a standard 14 day 'cooling off' period, starting when the new year's documents are sent out,during which you can cancel any automatically renewed policy without penelty.

I have not yet had any situation where I've been double charged, but I have found that cancelling is often not just a 'single free call'.
A pet hate of mine is companies which send auto-renewal documents / informaton out but give no information about how to contact them to cancel - e-mails sent from 'no-reply' addresses, no phone number included, websites which only have a 'contact form' (making it hard to keep a copy) etc. Add to this a hard sell when you do manage to speak to someone...

I've never yet had a 'quote' for an auto renewal which was a good deal - for each of the last three years my 'quote' on auto renewal has been higher than the previous year's policy, and the actual amount I've paid, after hopping around, has been lower than the previous year...

I'd love to find an insurer who was trustworthy eough that I could sit back and let it renew automatically, but I never have..

h2oh2o

My insurance auto renewed but I never received a letter - they claim they sent it but I never received it.

Does anyone know if this is a legal requirement? They have appointed debt collectors now and I'm just trying to determine if I have a case or just pay (premium and cancellation fee!)

MothballsWallet

janiebquick wrote: »

I have had problems with two insurance companies who auto renewed after being told by me that i did not want to renew my insurance with them. They are Direct Line and The Post Office, both of which have now lost my business permanently.

I hate auto renew. It's my responsibility to renew or accept the consequences if I don't, not my insurance company's.

The Post Office (and M&S) use Budget Insurance as part of their insurance product provision (I know, I used to work there), and the one benefit of auto-renewal (to them at least) is in relation to their profits.

Back to the topic: there should be a freedom of choice, as long as the question is asked when the policy is taken out, and the answer recorded properly. I've let my home insurance renew with Aviva for the last couple of years because it didn't go up by much, and I couldn't get a cheaper deal elsewhere.

Scots

Ah well I found out about auto renewal today .... scammed by Budget, but I see other companies are doing the same. No doubt in a few years the compensation payments will start once the government gets on the case.

I never received a renewal letter, but as it happens I had phoned in a few weeks ago about another matter. I asked what the renwal price was and was told £800. I'm used to pay £100 or so, so I told the operator I wouldn't be taking up their offer.

Today however I found out they had auto renewed the policy on Friday and when I phoned to complain the got the recorded call out and listened to it and then said I hadn't actually used the word 'cancel' therefore I hadn't cancelled.

They have said I will get a full refund including cancellation charges when I send them proof that I had another policy in place.

Sounds like organised crime to me.

rippers255

Similar process with Admiral today.

Registered for online documentation.

No renewal notice received (I've checked the filtered mail).

£200 more expensive than the cheapest quote. £47 cancellation charge. I'm going through the complaints procedure......

rabbit01

If you need to contact your insurer e.g. (AA Insurance) don't ring them on their nominated 0870/0844 number but use their 0800 number for signing new business, it can save the cost of a long call paying to listen to marketing material at your expense.

Online sign-up services should add a tick box to enable opt out of auto-renewal, the AA as an example does not do this.

It should be possible to contact the insurer via email when one is signed up online, again the AA does not do this and refuses to accept email.

My auto renewal for home contents jumped 20%!

I no longer do any business with AA Insurance services.

Caveat emptor - buyer beware!