Cooling off period for auto-renewal

GregOla

Hi,
This may have been covered off elsewhere but I can't find it, so apologies if this is a repeat question.

My wife allowed her car insurance to auto renew at the same cost as last year, about £720.
That was about a week ago. I've since gone over the comparison sites and can get a deal for half that (including £400 from her current insurer).
Can anyone tell me if there is a cooling off period for auto-renewal or do we just have to learn the lesson and wait til next year?

Thanks

bigmatt1174

Should be a min of 14 days - check the policy docs. Some may give 30.

_Andy_

Have you rung the insurer and asked?

InsideInsurance

All personal lines general insurance has the same 14 day cooling off period irrespective of if it is new business, manual or auto renewals.

That said, a cooling off period just means you CAN cancel it (and all the add ons) not that it is fee free to cancel. You'd normally expect to pay for the days on cover + an admin fee of £50-£75

GregOla

I can't call because it's not my policy and the wife is taking some convincing. She's currently of the 'we'll change it next time' train of thought, whereas I'd be quite happy to save the couple of hundred this year thank you very much.

I'll check policy documents.

forgotmyname

It may not be a couple of hundred by the time you add the admin charge, And time on cover etc.

You would need to phone and enquire. Dont jump in and cancel as the bill may shock you into stopping until next year.

Also dont trust the comparison sites 100%. Too many people come on here saying they bought a policy, Then the insurer called and found mistakes which increased the premium.

The main culprit is one that comes out cheaper for a lot of people.

rockin_plumber

Just going to hijack this thread as it seems about the same issue..

Our insurance is due on the 2nd May, got the renewal through a couple of weeks ago, but have to admit I didn't read the letter which mentioned they would auto renew 5 days before policy starts.

Looking at quotes the last few days and decided we don't like the new price.

Today the new policy documents arrive, which start on the 2nd May.

Has anyone had any experience with this situation? The insurance company is LV if it makes any difference.

My theory is that it hasn't started yet so they can't charge a cancellation fee.

Policy in partners name and I'm a named driver so they won't talk to me.

Just preparing for the phone call

TSx

rockin_plumber wrote: »

Just going to hijack this thread as it seems about the same issue..

Our insurance is due on the 2nd May, got the renewal through a couple of weeks ago, but have to admit I didn't read the letter which mentioned they would auto renew 5 days before policy starts.

Looking at quotes the last few days and decided we don't like the new price.

Today the new policy documents arrive, which start on the 2nd May.

Has anyone had any experience with this situation? The insurance company is LV if it makes any difference.

My theory is that it hasn't started yet so they can't charge a cancellation fee.

Policy in partners name and I'm a named driver so they won't talk to me.

Just preparing for the phone call

That's exactly how it's supposed to work - when you call just make it clear that you're not cancelling, your just letting them know you don't want the policy to be renewed. They can't charge a fee for that.

Just_Some_Guy

Phone them and say you are declining the renewal and could you send us a proof of NCD certificate please? The dude on the phone will squirm for a bit trying to get you to stay. Be polite but firm in telling him no.

dunstonh

My theory is that it hasn't started yet so they can't charge a cancellation fee.

Your theory is wrong if you have already told them they can renew but right if you havent done that yet.

On new business or where you have told them you want to renew, they can charge a cancellation charge and only a premium for the period of cover that has elapsed during the cancellation rights period. In your case, cover has not commenced. So, they cannot charge any premium. However, they can charge a cancellation fee.

Where you have told them nothing and you dont want to renew, they will not charge anything.

You must not use the word "cancel". You are choosing not to renew.