Campaign to stop insurance auto-renew

mark61120

I always ask for auto-renew to be cancelled on any policies or such that I take out. My children do the same, but following a claim earlier in the year where his car was written off, my son asked for a change of vehicle mid-policy. This new policy appears to have had auto-renew on it. Stupidly, he did not fully read an email from his insurers, only the renewal quotation. He went elsewhere as it was a lot cheaper.
He has noticed today, that his old insurers auto-renewed his policy at the beginning of the month and it will cost him (at least) a months premium, plus the admin fee to cancel. This amounts to about £150!

If Martin Lewis would like to get his weight behind getting rid of the practice of auto-renew, then I for one would be very grateful.

paddyandstumpy

If he has continuous cover elsewhere he just needs to present proof of that to the previous insurer and they should refund in full.

agrinnall

There is absolutely no problem with auto-renewal for anyone who pays attention to their finances. I don't believe that Martin Lewis (whi no longer has any ownership of this site) would consider a campaign to protect stupid people from themselves - in fact, they are the people most likely not to remember to renew and would be protected by auto-renewal.

jonesMUFCforever

I agree; I would rather be a few quid out of pocket with it, rather than find out after an incident that I was not covered for not paying the renewal.

forgotmyname

Did he not read the renewal letter/email?

I have a rare one where my broker does not auto renewal and i would prefer it if they did. Auto renew protects those that fail to remember when their insurance is up.

Not being covered is a bigger problem that those that dont read their renewal when it tells them they need to cancel otherwise it will renew.

Uxb

The other group is those whose lives are simply so busy that they could easily forget to renew.
By this I mean those who are busy on a job going back and fro possibly in and out of the UK, while at the same time dealing with children and their schooling, dodgy guttering on the house, and elderly relatives needing care.

eddddy

I prefer the safety net of auto-renew. I've never had a problem with stopping an auto-renewal, when changing insurers. (After spending an hour or so, checking out the comparison sites, reading reviews, reading alternative policies etc - 5 mins to call to cancel an auto-renewal seems to be no big deal.)

But there's a steady stream of posters on this forum who seem to get caught out by auto-renew.

However, if auto-renew wasn't standard, I suspect there would be an equally steady stream of posters who got caught out by failing to renew. (With potentially, much more serious consequences.)

mark61120

I agree that in a perfect world, my son would have checked all of his documentation carefully, but he is young and does not know the 'tricks' that insurers and the like use to retain your hard earned income.
Yes, I use the word tricks, because they NEVER lower their premiums when auto-renew is on the table, they take as much as they can. Or can somebody prove me otherwise?

Why does it take a separate call to the providers to request that auto-renew is not used? Why can this not be a tick-box like everything else on an on-line application?

dunstonh

If Martin Lewis would like to get his weight behind getting rid of the practice of auto-renew, then I for one would be very grateful.

Most people renew with the same company. So, it benefits the majority.
Plus, there have been a number of threads where people didnt have auto-renew and didnt take out a new policy and left themselves uninsured.

Unfortunately, in today's world, many seem to lack responsibility. Your son failed to do a simple task and you blame auto-renewal. However, if auto-renewal did not exist, then there would be far more uninsured drivers on the road as others fail to do the simple task of renewal.

Someone who cannot read their renewal letter and take the necessary actions is not going to be helped by the removal of auto-renewal.

Yes, I use the word tricks, because they NEVER lower their premiums when auto-renew is on the table, they take as much as they can. Or can somebody prove me otherwise?

That is not a fact. If you go with pricing that has a year one discount then its obviously going to go up in year two. However, lots of people dont go with year one discounting and do have years that their premiums fall. I have auto-renewed with my household insurance three years in a row with each being cheaper than before.

DCFC79

Uxb wrote: »

The other group is those whose lives are simply so busy that they could easily forget to renew.
By this I mean those who are busy on a job going back and fro possibly in and out of the UK, while at the same time dealing with children and their schooling, dodgy guttering on the house, and elderly relatives needing care.

Takes seconds to make a note of when its due on your phones calendar and not long to use a comparison website to get a cheaper quote.

mark61120 wrote: »

I agree that in a perfect world, my son would have checked all of his documentation carefully, but he is young and does not know the 'tricks' that insurers and the like use to retain your hard earned income.
Yes, I use the word tricks, because they NEVER lower their premiums when auto-renew is on the table, they take as much as they can. Or can somebody prove me otherwise?

Why does it take a separate call to the providers to request that auto-renew is not used? Why can this not be a tick-box like everything else on an on-line application?

I either act on the letter/email IO receive and get a cheaper price, sometimes I use my phones calendar to make a note when its due.

Other options available to remind yourself when its due.


If by any chance Im away when its due then I just deal with it. No need to get onto ML about it.

alanobrien

As someone who keeps track of policies and expenditure I to find the process of auto renew somewhat annoying. A simple tick box choice (to auto renew or not) when taking out a policy would seem to provide a good option for those that do and do not want it.