Canceled Insurance - Please HELP

Hol2

Please help - I'm losing sleep over this issue.

I'm a married with 2 kids 40 year old - have a well paid job and over the years managed to acquire 2 properties which we let as an investment for the future.

Long story short is that on a drunken night of stupidity, I ended up with a minor assault charge - around 7 years ago. When it came to renew my landlord insurance - I decided to switch to a better deal and when filling out the online application, inadvertently did not disclose the assault charge. When the documents arrived and asked me to check over and confirm - I noticed the error and advised the insurance company immediately. This resulted in them deciding that their policy did not match my circumstances and they canceled the policy.

At the time, I was advised to use a specialist broker to ensure my cover had full disclosure on the conviction. At the time, when asked if I had ever had an insurance policy cancelled - I answered honestly and said yes. I was then advised to put all home insurances through this broker - my home and 2 flats.

When my conviction became spent - 5 years later - I advised the broker who confirmed this was now removed from the policy howver it had little impact on the cost. When asking why - it was due to me having a canceled policy before..... I felt aggrieved at this as every year a renewal comes through, I'm reminded of a minor mistake which now looks as if I will not ever be able to forget. Even though I'd paid my £50 fine and now have a clear record - my insurance company will not accept this as a valid reason to have 'mainstream' insurance.

I have written to the CUE (insurancedatabases.co.uk) who advised no record of anything was held. Subsequently - I have taken out insurances answering 'no' to 'have you ever had an insurance policy cancelled' however, when going back to my broker and alerting them to this fact, they stated that because I answered 'yes' to their question years ago - I have disclosed that I have had insurance canceled and it is on record.

Please help as I'm losing sleep over this and want to ensure that my policy covers any issue at my home or properties. Should I answer yes r no to the cancelled question or can I please put this minor conviction to an insurance rest??????????

huckster

This is a hot topic.

Personally, i can't see it is fair to have a lifetime requirement to advise of cancellation, when conviction disclosure is limited by law.

There will be no central database recording of this cancellation years ago. Where people get caught out is using comparison sites, where they enter declaration info which is passed around the companies that use those sites. You then take out insurance not declaring something and it gets queried why you entered something different online.

What i would say in your favour is that you noticed the error years ago, when the policy was only just arranged and you bought it to their attention. Therefore the policy was cancelled, as you were outside of their underwriting acceptance criteria. This cancellation would not have been recorded as a fraud issue or any black mark attached to it. The policy would simply have just been cancelled. It is not the same as a voidance, where say for example you made a claim and the Insurers found you had acted dishonestly.

I would say it was reasonable not to disclose the cancellation, if your explanation of the cancellation is accurate. Others on here, will disagree, which is their choice and they can debate it if they wish. You will get some responses saying black/white, have you EVER had a policy cancelled and they will say it is a lifetime requirement to disclose every cancellation. It is your choice, but i don't see why you should be restricted to very expensive niche broker products forever, due to one application error, which was corrected.

You can also look at Direct Line who i think ask a slightly different question.

Quentin

huckster wrote: »

You can also look at Direct Line who i think ask a slightly different question.

The difference with DL for their house insurance they don't ask any question about cancellations, but cover it in the assumptions you must agree to ( which includes that no one to be covered by the policy has ever had a policy cancelled by an insurer)

Quentin

Hol2 wrote: »

Please help as I'm losing sleep over this and want to ensure that my policy covers any issue at my home or properties. Should I answer yes r no to the cancelled question or can I please put this minor conviction to an insurance rest??????????

contacting CUE was a waste of money - that database records claims.

Your broker has advised you correctly.

If you simply answer no to the question then you waste your money on the policy as in the event of any claim the insurer has grounds to reject the claim and void the policy.

If any insurer tells you this cancellation need not be disclosed then get it confirmed back to you in writing before buying the policy and note their acceptance would not mean any other insurer would accept their view

Quentin

huckster wrote: »

There will be no central database recording of this cancellation years ago.

I would say it was reasonable not to disclose the cancellation, if your explanation of the cancellation is accurate.

This looks dangerously bad advice.

The op has disclosed the cancellation recently so it be on record.

If he now takes out a policy and answers no to the cancellation question then as posted it leaves the insurer with grounds to reject a claim and void the policy.

huckster

On one brokers record and whatever underwriters they use.

Where does this disclosure requirement stop, if the line is never drawn ?

Are you expecting them to have to disclose this on their mobility scooter Insurance in 40 years time ?

Yes i know the Quentin stance, but there is an argument about fairness here and what is reasonable. The cancellation issue was years ago and the issue that led to the cancellation shortly after policy inception, is no longer something disclosable by law.

Quentin

It's not the Quentin stance.

It's a fact that insurers usually ask if you " ever" had a policy cancelled.

Which is why you would have to disclose it in 40 years time if the question is asked using the word ' ever'

Whether or not the original conviction is spent is irrelevant.

Hol2

Is there any way of working with an insurer or database or anything that can be done here? I get very stressed every time a property renewal comes through.?!?!

Quentin

You should answer the question truthfully but discuss with the insurer the circs of the cancellation and take it from their reply.

If an agent tells you that you can say no to the question then get this confirmed back to you in writing before you buy ( and save the letter!)

Alternatively discuss with a local broker (not Swinton) and see if he can help your stress by sorting this for you.

huckster

What many people in the situation do, is to get a letter from the company that cancelled the policy, to write a letter confirming that the type of cancellation was not one that needed to be disclosed on every insurance forever. Insurances are cancelled for a large number of reasons, but few people would disclose every instance. If you started to disclose a cancellation because Insurers could not cover a changed risk, then the cancellation question would be ticked yes and you would be in a continous cycle of disclosing it again and again forever.

The only reason you went to the specialist brokers was the conviction. You have not mentioned that the company who cancelled, told you that the cancellation needed to be disclosed on every occasion in future.

It is a bit late in the day now, but if you don't get this issue resolved, you are in for decades of paying excessive Insurance premiums, because you can't access the whole market.

mattk_180

Quentin has pretty much answered everything you need to know. I would reiterate though that you should ring insurers/brokers when dealing with your policies rather than ever looking online.


In some cases, having a policy cancelled doesn't mean an automatic decline or increased premium, but a trigger to ask other questions (which you can do with a human, not a comparison site!).


I wouldn't get your hopes up too much but when you declare it (which you should do, every time), explain what the situation is in full, and underwriters might take exception. The worst they can do is say no, but at least you would have a chance to put your case across.


If you find an insurer that is happy with the situation and won't penalise you too much, stick with them!