Car insurance cancelled

BdebtB

Hey guys,

I was recently involved in an accident and made a claim for the 3rd party damage. I'd gotten my MOT dates mixed up and as such the car was not MOT'ed at the time of the accident and my insurance company has said they will cancel my policy in 7 days time.

I've been told I'm liable for the damage to the other car which is fair enough.

Obviously this cancellation will give me issues getting insurance in the future or at the least massively increase my premiums so I spoke to the customer services (Go Skippy) and they confirmed if I cancel the policy first then this will end my policy and it wont be logged as being cancelled by the provider in future searches and quotes. I double checked this with a supervisor and called a second time to speak to a different advisor who confirmed the same.

I'm a little sceptical and was hoping someone here can confirm this is how it works?

Any help is appreciated!

Thanks!

DUTR

I don't recall insurers asking about MOT dates, you are insured at the time of the accident so they have to re-imburse the 3rd party , they may then seek the costs from you.

BdebtB

Hey @DUTR thanks for the reply.

Unfortunately it was in the small print (which I should have checked) that the car needed a valid MOT or the policy is cancelled.

I'm fine to cover the damage to the 3rd party as it's my own fault for not keeping on top of things I'm just concerned this mistake will cost me a fortune in increased premiums in the future as there's no time limit on declaring a cancelled policy.

angrycrow

The Financial ombudsman service ruled it was unfair for an insurer to decline cover simply because the mot had expired unless the car was found to be in a dangerous condition and this directly contributed to the accident. Insurers were allowed to reduce the total loss settlement to reflect the lack of mot. Fos deemed policy terms of this nature unfair.

Complain to the insurer and threaten to take the case to fos and they will likely back down. Has the car now passed an mot.

marlot

Go Skippy/Eldon have previous for this ...


https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5607249/car-insurance-help-please#topofpage

BdebtB

Thanks for the reply @angrycrow

Thanks some great news about the MOT not being reason enough to void my cover! I actually cancelled the policy myself today as they were going to at midnight tomorrow but it's good to know I can challenge them on the 3rd party costs.

Car is booked in for an MOT tomorrow!

@markot really useful thread thanks for sharing.

I'll give them another shout tomorrow and let them know this new info and I'lll update this thread when I hear back.

dacouch

The Ombudsman does not allow an insure to either refuse a claim or cancel your policy for not having an mot.

I am on holiday at moment so difficult to find and post the relevant links for you to use.

Hopefully someone else will post them, alternatively Google my user "dacouch admiral no not mse" and it should take you to some other people who we have helped have their claim paid and the cancellation stopped.

P.S Your Insurer is owned by Arron Banks...

BdebtB

Thats great news thanks @dacouch. I'll get in touch with the insurer today with this info and will keep you guys posted.

dacouch

The best way would be to find the relevant links and text of ombudsmans requirements on Mots.

Ring them and politely point out their error.

If this does not work you can make an official complaint.

Sometimes if you call the ombudsman they will call the insurer.

It's worth bearing in mind that the senior staff at your Insurer are well aware they cannot do this. But being the type of insurer they are, they continue acting this way

lisyloo

Can you confirm which insurer it is (so those of us lurking know).

BdebtB

Hey dacouch,

I called them this morning and explained the situation and they asked I send it all over via email so they can pass it on to their underwriters to make the decision so thats my next step. If they push back I'll just make a complaint with the FOS. My car will be MOT'ed by the end of the day and they found noting that could have caused this accident anyway.

@lisyloo. It's Go Skippy broker with Eldon insurance. Under writer is Southern Rock out of Gibraltar.