Car insurance cancellation charge £75!

ripplyuk

My insurers have said I must cancel the policy once I sell the car but the policy runs out in June anyway and it seems a lot of money to cancel, not to mention losing a year off my NCB. Is it illegal for me not to cancel it? I was thinking of just letting it run and have already told them not to auto-renew. I'm just a bit unsure of what to do.

The reason I need to cancel it as opposed to just changing the vehicle details to my new car is that they quoted a ridiculous price for the new car, despite me telling them that I've got other quotes for less than a third of what they're asking.

vaio

You are what's known as "over a barrel".

You must cancel it once you sell it otherwise your insurer could still be liable but with the right to reclaim any costs from you, could be really bad if someone got injured.

To transfer it to your new car you need to pay their rates and if it's a car they don't like then it will be high so do the sums, is having an extra year NCB worth paying their rates until June?

If you are with an actual insurer (rather than a broker) it might be worth doing a dummy quote to make sure they aren't inflating the costs because of your captive status

ripplyuk

What about 'suspending' the insurance until the renewal date? Would this be possible or still leave me in a bad position?

InsideInsurance

For any costs also remember to get a breakdown of what is fees and what is premium.

It wont be "illegal" to continue the insurance when you dont own the vehicle but it will almost certainly be a breach of the terms of the policy in which case the insurer can cancel your policy which is something to avoid at all costs as this has to be declared, for life, to all insurances you are ever covered by and most mainstream insurers will never touch you again.

If they didnt "find out" and you did let it continue then as Vaio says, if the new owners didnt insure the vehicle or there were indemnity issues your policy would remain the RTA insurers of the vehicle so would have to pay out any third party claims and they would have a right of recovery against you.

scotsbob

Increasingly, as insurance companies lower prices to appear near the top of comparison table, they have high admin fees for changes to policies and cancellations.

A neighbour had an annual policy of £310 but changed her address and got stung for £50 admin charge. Then changed her name by marriage and got another £50 admin charge.

That's was 30% extra on her annual policy.

motorguy

scotsbob wrote: »

Increasingly, as insurance companies lower prices to appear near the top of comparison table, they have high admin fees for changes to policies and cancellations.

A neighbour had an annual policy of £310 but changed her address and got stung for £50 admin charge. Then changed her name by marriage and got another £50 admin charge.

That's was 30% extra on her annual policy.

+1

My wifes insurance went up £150 because i'd had an accident (well my son had an accident on my policy), so we agreed we should just take me off her car policy, the "charge" for that? £200 - as she was getting a discount for having me on as a second driver which she would then lose. :eek:

arcon5

Buy a shed and put it on your drive way until June. Get some quotes first though so you pick the right banger. When June arrives have it scrapped to recover your money and take your ncb.

If your using a new insurer now though for your new car, wouldn't this be pricey since you cannot use your existing ncb on the new policy as it's already being used....…

ripplyuk

I think I'll end up just paying the £75 to cancel.

It's unbelievable what they're allowed to charge. I've been getting quotes for insurance on my new car and they're all around £200-£250 which is cheaper than the insurance for my old car. The new car is insurance group 1 and the old one was group 9 yet My current insurer wants £640 AND a £30 adjustment fee!

I've got 7 years NCD and it would be 8 in June but when I cancel I'll lose out on this years.

InsideInsurance

Many insurers only count up to 5 years NCD and those that do count higher only tend to give 1-2% discount per year so the difference between 7 and 8 will be small to none.

These are ultimately the choices you make though, very cheap initial premiums and high fees for doing anything or higher initial premiums and cheaper amendment/ cancellation fees.

Price is king and almost everyone goes for option 1

Johno100

ripplyuk wrote: »

I think I'll end up just paying the £75 to cancel.

It's unbelievable what they're allowed to charge. I've been getting quotes for insurance on my new car and they're all around £200-£250 which is cheaper than the insurance for my old car. The new car is insurance group 1 and the old one was group 9 yet My current insurer wants £640 AND a £30 adjustment fee!

I've got 7 years NCD and it would be 8 in June but when I cancel I'll lose out on this years.

But aren't you going to need your No Claims Bonus, which is presently being used on your old car, to get the premiums you are being quoted on your new car?

And I agree with other poster, the difference in premium between 7 and 8 years NCB will be minimal with a few insurers and non-existent with most.

gilbert_and_sullivan

Ripply, would you mind naming the insurer in question, so we can avoid them at all costs.

I really dislike companies that sting people like this, so do my best to avoid ever giving them my business.