Car insurance auto renewal of 1yr legal & breakdown cover

neuro99

Hi,

My car insurance was automatically renewed on 21/4/14. I did not receive (& thus read) the insurance renewal documents prior to this due to
1) I was out of the country on holiday
2) I have since moved flat due to unforeseen circumstances

As my renewal quote was ridiculous, I have decided to switch. On calling the insurer to cancel, they have told me I have to pay £170, and have no rights as I am outside the cooling off period.

My points are:

1) I realise that there may be auto renewal clauses etc, but I did not receive or sign anything to say I would be happy to continue with my insurance - hence surely the cooling off period argument cannot suffice?

2) The charges breakdown as follows £35 for cancellation fee, £50 for the insurance up to the time of cancellation, £35 for legal cover (FOR THE YEAR), £50 for breakdown cover (FOR THE YEAR)

3) well if my above point (#1) doesn't indeed hold up, then I feel I may have to bite the bullet and pay the cancellation fee + insurance cover up until that point ( I feel this is reasonable)

4) HOWEVER, the extra £85 for the year of legal & breakdown cover is surely not right?? especially seeing as I have always paid my insurance on a monthly basis

I was on the phone with them earlier today and got cut off as soon as the clock struck 8pm. Really gutted about this and will have to have another go tomorrow morning.

Please is there anything else I can do? I'm new to the legalities and intricacies of dealing with insurance companies myself.

Thanks in advance.

Hasbeen

Sorry! But along with others who do not read or understand the terms of the policy you initially purchased which stated all the conditions which you AGREED to, then there is not much leeway.


You can call back and discuss, perhaps get reduction if you continue to be insured by them.


Even paying monthly its a years policy with all conditions attached


Sorry

Spiderham

Did you arrange alternative insurance prior to the renewal date?

neuro99

no I didn't arrange an alternative prior to getting the letter. By the time I had the chance to read the renewal quote (only yesterday), it was already too late.

I do realise that there are these terms and conditions, but surely given my circumstances, it just feels really harsh and unfair

Quentin

Your circumstances are your problem

All you can hope for is a goodwill gesture and have no other "rights" in this. (Assuming they are acting in line with the ts and cs).

forgotmyname

If you can prove you took cover out elsewhere you may have a better claim. But you admit to not getting insurance elsewhere so they saved you from being uninsured and probably getting fines from the DVLA for not SORN'ing the vehicle.

When paying monthly your usually taking out a loan to pay the year off.

neuro99

thanks for the advice, depressing as it seems :sad:

I really don't have much of an issue with paying the cancellation fee + insurance. It's fair enough.

It's the extras they added on that really get to me, if they can waive that somehow then i'll be happy(ier)

also (and I'll admit I'm clutching at straws here), after looking again at the renewal documents:

1) the address is not the same anymore (and has been the case for some time)

2) the registered keeper has also changed

Do these two above points not void the policy in any case - i.e. if I were to have made a claim previously, they would have cited these as reasons not to pay out??

Again, I realise It's my responsibility to update the insurance company regarding the information, but surely they have some role in clarifying that the details are still valid?

TSx

neuro99 wrote: »

thanks for the advice, depressing as it seems :sad:

I really don't have much of an issue with paying the cancellation fee + insurance. It's fair enough.

It's the extras they added on that really get to me, if they can waive that somehow then i'll be happy(ier)

also (and I'll admit I'm clutching at straws here), after looking again at the renewal documents:

1) the address is not the same anymore (and has been the case for some time)

2) the registered keeper has also changed

Do these two above points not void the policy in any case - i.e. if I were to have made a claim previously, they would have cited these as reasons not to pay out??

Again, I realise It's my responsibility to update the insurance company regarding the information, but surely they have some role in clarifying that the details are still valid?

They do have some role to play, they have to send you renewal documents in good time for you to review them - I'm not sure that you can place any blame on them if they send these to the address which you gave them.

I'd strongly warn against going down the argument of "I didn't tell you about these changes so my policy should be void" as they may decide to retrospectively cancel the policy (void it) - if you think your renewal quote was high then just wait till you have to declare a policy that's been cancelled. You also need to remember that as you haven't had alternative insurance, regardless of the fact there have been changes which may make a claim by you invalid, they would still be obliged to pay out on any third party claim.

There is a formal complaints process to follow - it will be laid out in your policy booklet, and generally involves the company reviewing the complaint and providing a response within 8 weeks. If you are unhappy, this can be escalated to the financial ombudsman.

Finally - a couple of technical points, insurance is almost always an annual contract, although you can choose to pay monthly. You wouldn't have needed to agree to the renewal terms and conditions as the original terms and conditions will cover auto-renew. Add-ons like breakdown cover and legal expenses cannot usually be cancelled pro-rata after the cooling off period.

Quentin

neuro99 wrote: »

.... I realise It's my responsibility to update the insurance company regarding the information, but surely they have some role in clarifying that the details are still valid?

How come they should clarify whether or not you have abided by the conditions you both agreed? (Which included you informing them of material changes like this)

If and when they discover policyholders have breached the policy conditions like this (usually after a claim) it gives them grounds to void the policy!

(As you have already been advised, this is what could happen anyway if you use this to try and get out of paying what you owe, and the (lifetime) cost of a voided/cancelled policy on your history will make what you owe now seem like pocket money over the years!)

(And they will still chase you for the money!)

forgotmyname

It wont void the policy as in you wont need to pay it. But void it because you have failed to keep to the terms and notify them of change of details.

Not being registered to you could see them fail to payout in the event of a claim. Not changing the address could be seen as evading a premium increase.

They could see it as fraud, So i would go telling them that you didnt receive the renewal because you moved and the car is no longer in your name.
Both of which may have seen a jump in premium.

Your terms may have mentioned that you must be the owner and registered keeper.

neuro99

Ouch! looks like things will just keep going against me no matter how much I try to fight it.

Don't like giving in to getting bullied like this, especially by insurance companies, but I think I'll have to play it safe and just chalk it up to a harsh lesson learned.

Still surprised that there isn't more consumer protection here. Sure there is a problem with fraud etc, but it seems the people that lose out the most are those that make the honest mistakes