Cancelling house insurance renewal?

ppol

Does anyone know if I am obliged to cancel my renewal for my house insurance by phone if I get a cheaper quote elsewhere? I have had my renewal notice through and do not want to spend 15 minutes on the phone to my company just to say I do not want to renew with them. I have cancelled the direct debit so they cannot take any further payments for the new policy I will not take up. I did search on line for an email address for Halifax home insurance but could not find one.

Hedgehog99

Be careful - some banks and insurers need letters to confirm cancellation of direct debits. To save the hassle, put it in writing to both. You also need to tell your mortgage provider because they need to know that you have buildings cover.
Be extra careful to check that you don't agree to your new insurer's "we'll charge it to the same card next year" statement which I find is worded very matter-of-factly rather than as an option for the customer. Hmmm.

whatmichaelsays

ppol wrote: »

Does anyone know if I am obliged to cancel my renewal for my house insurance by phone if I get a cheaper quote elsewhere? I have had my renewal notice through and do not want to spend 15 minutes on the phone to my company just to say I do not want to renew with them. I have cancelled the direct debit so they cannot take any further payments for the new policy I will not take up. I did search on line for an email address for Halifax home insurance but could not find one.

If you have agreed to auto-renewal, you will need to contact the insurer and ask them not to renew. Does you renewal say anything to the effect of "if you want to renew, you don't need to do anything"?

Contrary to popular belief, cancelling a DD is not a form of cancellation to a contract. If you don't tell then not to renew, they'll go ahead and renew and then chase you for payment and/or trash your insurance record when the DD bounces.

kingstreet

If your renewal says it will auto renew if you do nothing, yes you will need to contact them to prevent the renewal.

Cancelling the direct debit will prevent them taking money. If you don't formally cancel, you may still owe money and have additional charges added.

If it is on auto renewal, it will be less hassle to bite the bullet and make the call now.

InsideInsurance

ppol wrote: »

Does anyone know if I am obliged to cancel my renewal for my house insurance by phone if I get a cheaper quote elsewhere? I have had my renewal notice through and do not want to spend 15 minutes on the phone to my company just to say I do not want to renew with them. I have cancelled the direct debit so they cannot take any further payments for the new policy I will not take up. I did search on line for an email address for Halifax home insurance but could not find one.

Is it on autorenewal or not?

Assuming it is, as almost all paid by DD are, do you want two policies? If not then yes you need to cancel it.

Cancelling the DD just stops your payment being made which can then add fees to the debt you owe, result in debt collectors being involved and ultimately they cancel it for non-payment which you then have to declare for life with the majority of insurers.

If you are really against using the phone then write them a letter and get a certificate of posting from the post office as long as you've allowed a reasonable enough time for it to get to them and be processed - really 7-10 days would be sensible.

ppol

Thanks for your help. I have bitten the bullet. I do not remember asking for automatic which I never would and the letter just said 'because I pay by direct debit they would carry on. I didn't know that paying by direct debit constituted a wish to automatically renew insurance policies??

whatmichaelsays

ppol wrote: »

Thanks for your help. I have bitten the bullet. I do not remember asking for automatic which I never would and the letter just said 'because I pay by direct debit they would carry on. I didn't know that paying by direct debit constituted a wish to automatically renew insurance policies??

It's not just a DD thing.

It's often hidden in the T&Cs when you take out the policy. By taking out the policy, you agree to their auto-renewal clause.

*Scarlett

Most policies paid on dd will renew automatically and you must tell the insurer to lapse the policy if you don't want it the next year to avoid further hassle.

Some insurers will also use "continuous payment authority" if you have made a card payment and you would need to tell the insurer to lapse the policy.

Your insurance docs and renewal notice will tell you what type of agreement that you have.