Changing cars half way through

lippy1923

Hello,

I just wanted to know if anyone has had experience with car insurance and buying a new car half way through a policy.
Hopefully we will have enough money in the new year to trade in one of our cars and buy a new one. Our insurance will be about halfway through the policy by that time.

Do we just simply phone up and ask them to swap the insurance over to the new car? I know there will be admin fees etc which is fine. If we get a lower spec car (the one we have now is stupidly flash/fast and costs a fortune) will they possibly refund some of the premium?

Obviously nobody is going to know what premium will be charged, I just wanted to know if they ever refund people when adjusting a policy. Not sure how it works or what to expect.

Hopefully someone can advise

James_Lahey

I've changed mid policy a couple of times - expect £20-30 admin fee and not to get a great deal on new vehicle.

My last change I went from from an £150 per year policy to a £200 a year policy and I got charged an extra £47 for the last month (plus admin) :mad:. I'd imagine you should get a refund if you are trading down - but nothing like the difference of buying new policies.

Quentin

Before you buy your new car check it is acceptable to your insurer. (If no, then you would need to cancel your policy and buy a new one which would be an expensive exercise.

lippy1923

Thank you for the comments. I suppose when it comes down to it, when we have the money and find a car we want, I should just ring the insurance company and let them know what the plan is.
They will soon tell me if its going to be a problem.

How does it work with nc's? Will they just transfer the nc's over to the new car? So at the end of the year, we still earn 1yrs nc bonus?

Sorry to sound like a wally

lippy1923

Quentin wrote: »

Before you buy your new car check it is acceptable to your insurer. (If no, then you would need to cancel your policy and buy a new one which would be an expensive exercise.

I should have mentioned, its a multicar policy with 2 cars on it. So this wouldn't be good!
Thanks for the advice though. I will definately check if the car is acceptable before buying!

James_Lahey

Yes NCB will rack up as usual, my insurance company couldn't quote for the change until I had the reg number - they just let me know what difference the annual fee would be when I called to enquire.

lippy1923

James_Lahey wrote: »

Yes NCB will rack up as usual, my insurance company couldn't quote for the change until I had the reg number - they just let me know what difference the annual fee would be when I called to enquire.

Thanks very much

forgotmyname

Ask the questions BEFORE you buy the car. Sometimes people buy a car their current insurer wont cover.

many years ago i had a 1L car and bought a 3.5L V8 Rover. The insurance company said sorry we wont cover you on that vehicle.

I thought it was the ideal car for a 22 year old with less than 3 years driving experience.

They obviously thought otherwise.

loracan1

Changed my car last January (policy was up to May) from a mondeo2l to a newer 1.6lfocus - cost £90 on a £350ish policy.