Car insurance cancelled

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The charming, and in no way capricious, people at eCar/Brightside have just decided to cancel my motor policy with 7 days notice.

Why? Because I've had the temerity to move 2km from one house in NE40 to a house in NE40.

I've spoken to them and they say my address is 'unacceptable.' When I asked for reasons they say, "there can be any number of reasons." "What reasons?" I ask. "There can be any number of reasons," they say.

Droid couldn't go off-script any more than to say "there can be any number of reasons" more times than my temper could bear.

I presume this now means that every insurer is going to treat me like a pariah and I can say goodbye to my NCD

FutureGirl

Insurers can choose to insure who they wish, if they don't want to insure people living in your new road (for example) then they don't have to.

The 'droid' you speak of doesn't make the rules, therefore wouldn't know the reason as to why, or may not be permitted to tell you why it was cancelled.

Your cancellation letter should give a reason as to why it's been cancelled.

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FutureGirl wrote: »

Insurers can choose to insure who they wish, if they don't want to insure people living in your new road (for example) then they don't have to.

So why can't they tell me the reason?

Your cancellation letter should give a reason as to why it's been cancelled.

I don't have a cancellation letter. Just an email that says "we've cancelled your policy."

eCar don't do letters.

GingerBob_3

As I've pointed out elsewhere - and I admit it's a bit of a generalisation - but insurance companies, especially the motor sector, are slime-dwelling filth in need of severe and effective regulation. There's no valid reason for them not explaining why they've cancelled your insurance.


I'm not sure, but a cancellation such as this may, in theory, have to be reported by you, for life when taking out other motor insurance. Others may confirm this.

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GingerBob wrote: »

I'm not sure, but a cancellation such as this may, in theory, have to be reported by you, for life when taking out other motor insurance. Others may confirm this.

So what do I tell other insurers? My insurance was cancelled because somebody didn't like my address and wouldn't tell me why.

Or is my address on some blacklist so nobody will insure me here?

How on earth do I find out?

molerat

Your insurance has not been "cancelled" in a way that you need to inform other insurers. Just find another insurer and move on.

Retrogamer

I wonder if it's possible that when you took out your policy they would offer insurance for cars in that area and now they don't?

When i check here it shows as quite a high risk area.
http://www.motorcarinsuranceuk.co.uk/post-code-ratings.php

You could try going through their formal complaints procedure to start with. Hopefully that way you can find out a more informative reason to exactly why it's cancelled.
After that, if it was deemed "unfair" to cancel the policy you can complain to the ombudsman if you can't resolve it with them directly.

System

molerat wrote: »

Your insurance has not been "cancelled" in a way that you need to inform other insurers. .

That's not very clear, considering that insurers do not define this "in a way" kind of cancellation.
Could you elaborate which kinds of insurer-cancellation need to be declared, and which not?
Do all insurers use the same definitions?

Aretnap

A reportable cancellation occurs when the insurer cancels the policy - usually because the policyholder has lied about something, or not kept up the monthly payments.

This type of "cancellation" is not actually a cancellation by the insurer at all - it goes like this.

Policyholder: "Good morning. I'm selling my Ford and buying a Ferrari - so I wondered if I could transfer my policy to the new car?"
Insurer: "I'm sorry Sir, but we don't insure Ferraris"
Policyholder: "Fair enough. In that case I'd like to cancel my policy please"

You see what actually happened there? The insurer didn't cancel the policy - the policyholder did.

The OP's conversation with his insurer might not have gone in exactly the same way, but the end result is the same.

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molerat wrote: »

Your insurance has not been "cancelled" in a way that you need to inform other insurers.

Have you got a source for what types of cancellation need to be declared?

molerat wrote: »

Just find another insurer and move on.

How do I do that when my policy has been cancelled leaving me with no NCD and a 'black mark' on my record. Just pretend it's 1988, I'm 25 again and start from scratch?

FutureGirl

Have you formally complained to the insurer if you're unhappy with this?