issues with insurance

msp198

Hi guys,

a bit of background to my issue - i had motorcycle insurance with MCE and wrote my bike off in february.

I was told at the time of the claim that the policy would be cancelled. stupidly i believed them and only realised last month that the direct debit was still coming out of my account.

I have called them and they stated that a policy isn't cancelled for a fault incident and the rest of the policy should be paid until cancelled. However, they advised at the time of the claim that the policy would be cancelled and won't give me a refund for the money paid since and have even tried to fine me for cancelling the DD.

i need to trawl through the emails to see if they mentioned anything in there as they have basically said there are too many calls made to resolve the issue for them to replay so it's simply my word against theirs. those were the guys exact words. Where do i stand legally with this? how can i get the money back and more importantly, how do i get them to remove the default from my credit history?

any help is greatly appreciated. if you need any more info, i'm willing to provide it. i just want to get this issue resolved. even if i lose the money, i still dont want the default as my credit score prior to this was excellent.

many thanks

[Deleted User]

msp198 wrote: »

I have called them and they stated that a policy isn't cancelled for a fault incident and the rest of the policy should be paid until cancelled.

Why would your insurance be cancelled by a claimable event?

msp198 wrote: »

they advised at the time of the claim that the policy would be cancelled

Again, why would an insurance policy be cancelled by a claimable event? Did you actually make an insurance claim? Did you attempt to cancel the insurance in writing prior to stopping your Direct Debit?

msp198 wrote: »

it's simply my word against theirs

Yes, a "hearsay" complaint for which you can provide no evidence.

I think you'll have to pay up.

jonnyd281

If the policy pays out, the insurance has done its job and the annual premium becomes payable in full. Motor Insurance is an annual premium not a monthly (generally)

[Deleted User]

jonnyd281 wrote: »

Motor Insurance is an annual premium not a monthly (generally)

Clearly, that's not the case here. The insurance is being paid in monthly instalments, hence the Direct Debit.
I think the Op has misunderstood what he has been told at the time of his claim.

jonnyd281

Moneyineptitude wrote: »

Clearly, that's not the case here. The insurance is being paid in monthly instalments, hence the Direct Debit.
I think the Op has misunderstood what he has been told at the time of his claim.

I pay my home insurance and car insurance by direct debit, they are still annual premiums, just the premiums are spread over 12 months instead of in one payment.

[Deleted User]

Moneyineptitude wrote: »

The insurance is being paid in monthly instalments, hence the Direct Debit.

jonnyd281 wrote: »

I pay my home insurance and car insurance by direct debit, they are still annual premiums, just the premiums are spread over 12 months instead of in one payment.

That's what I referred to above. The OP still has to repay the remainder of his annual premium even though he has made a claim on the insurance.

The Op's "problem" is due to his lack of understanding of what he has been paying for and an apparent mis-understanding of what he was told at the time of his claim back in February. If he wanted to cancel the insurance back then, he should have paid up the remainder of the annual premium.

He'll have to pay the money owed.

dunstonh

It is normal for a policy that has had a claim on it, in that year, to require the full premium to be paid. That is considered fair by the FOS as the policy terms are that it will pay out for any claim between two dates.

If the premium is being paid by d/d then that should continue and not be cancelled. Although the insurer may accept a cheque for the outstanding premium.

Some insurers will cancel the policy on a claim (if the claim is due to actions that make the person fall outside their criteria for example). However, cancelling the policy is different to paying the outstanding premiums due. So, this looks like a simple misunderstanding here.