Car Insurance Cancellation - Within 14 days

daggy

Afternoon all,

I took out car insurance through a comparison site just under two weeks ago, but when I logged in to check my policy documents I noticed that my insurance type was set to S, D & P, so no cover for commuting to and from a single place of work; I was certain I'd selected S, D & P + commuting when I ran the comparison and accepted the insurance.

Anyway I amended the policy and it's gonna add 10 quid per month on to my policy.

I also found the e-mail from the comparison site with my quotes on and reran the quote... I had selected S,D & P with commuting.

Called RAC direct to discuss cancelling and was told I'd have to pay a £25 arrangement fee within the 14 day window and a larger cancellation fee if it runs over 14 days and I cancel.

My insurance is £56 per month and would go up to £65ish, they did offer to start me a completely fresh policy which would come out at £62.

Another issue is that courtesy car and legal cover work selected on the comparison but I was told the courtesy car is not guaranteed and the legal cover is not available if you have a crash with an uninsured driver... so it's worthless.

Anyway, I digress..

Are they allowed to charge me a fee for cancelling within the 14 day 'cooling off' period?

Thanks in advance for any help :-)

BoGoF

Yes they are

shaun_from_Africa

You may want to cancel an insurance policy if you have just bought it and have changed your mind. By law, you have a minimum 14-day cooling-off period during which you can cancel the policy for any reason. If you’ve bought life insurance, the cooling-off period is 30 days.

The cooling-off period starts from when the policy begins or when you receive your policy documents, whichever is later. You should get a refund of any premiums you have already paid. However, your insurer may take off a small amount to cover days when the policy was in force. They may also charge you a small administration fee.

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/insurance/insurance/managing-your-insurance-policy/cancelling-an-insurance-policy/

daggy

Thanks everyone.. guess I'll just have to take the hit.

timbstoke

Not necessarily. If the policy they've provided doesn't match the one you purchased, then your first step should be to ask them to provide the correct policy at the quoted price. If they refuse, you tell them you wish to invoke their formal complaints procedure and ask that your case be escalated to the appropriate department.

From that moment on, every time you are stonewalled, the magic words are "OK, thanks for your help. Is this as far as I can escalate this complain internally? I've been advised that I need to exhaust your internal complaints process before I contact the insurance ombudsman."

Fluffybunny80

Problem is comparison sites are known for this to give out cheaper quotes but often for basic cover.

OP do you have your confirmation email,a that should state what you purchased.