Home insurance automatically renewed on an expired card! Help...

ARE007

In February Admiral automatically renewed my home insurance on an expired debit card. I only found out about this because I received a letter in the post to say that payment could not be taken due to the card being expired and that I should ring them to update my card details. Their premium was massively higher than the previous year so I decided to ignore it and go with a cheaper provider. A few weeks later I received another letter saying that my home insurance had been cancelled and that I owe them approx. £50 for weeks I was insured by them, plus an administration fee. I stupidly ignored the letter because this was around the time COVID-19 started and I moved out of my home to self isolate with my elderly parents in their home, only returning every 4-5 weeks to check the house/post etc. In that time I received another letter saying that if payment wasn't received in 30 days then the case would be passed on their collections department and I would incur another  £30(approx) (plus the £50). I haven't received anything from them since. I'm still isolating with parents only returning every few weeks now. What are my rights? Can they pursue me for this payment? I expect they can but it does seem very unfair when I had no intention of renewing my insurance with them!

frederick1950

Really you sum it up well yourself.
It was your fault for "stupidly"  ignoring the problem.

ARE007

frederick1950 said:

Really you sum it up well yourself.
It was your fault for "stupidly"  ignoring the problem.

Yes, I wish I had of sorted it out, but my head was elsewhere due to COVID. I stupidly thought Admiral were using scare tactics to get me to hand over £50 when didn't want my insurance renewed. I thought they would have canceled it immediately when payment wasn't received, but they kept it going for around 30 days.

Sandtree

Unfortunately you are currently missing the bigger problem... you now have to declare for the rest of your life that you have had insurance cancelled for non-payment which means many insurers won't touch you at all and those that do are likely to increase your premiums.

You ideally want to contact them, advise you had bought elsewhere and messed up with not informing them as you didn't realise you had to or such and throw yourself on their mercy to remove the cancelled market.

ARE007

Bloody heck, I really really wish I had sorted this out sooner! 

Just to clarify, this was for an annual sum, rather than monthly installment. I had zero intention of renewing with them and didn't even know there was an automatic renewal.

I really hope that this isn't me jinxed for life now when it comes to insurance. 

csgohan4

For future readers always diarise and lapse the insurance by contacting them, if you are switching for example

penners324

All insurances auto renew now.
If you don't want it you have to cancel the insurance.
I'd be doing what Sandtree and doing it yesterday.

DCFC79

csgohan4 said:

For future readers always diarise and lapse the insurance by contacting them, if you are switching for example

Or once the policy has started you phone them or use the chat option to cancel the auto renew.
I really dont understand how people dont diarise it.

Hasbeen

ARE007 said:

Bloody heck, I really really wish I had sorted this out sooner! 

Just to clarify, this was for an annual sum, rather than monthly installment. I had zero intention of renewing with them and didn't even know there was an automatic renewal.

I really hope that this isn't me jinxed for life now when it comes to insurance. 

If you have zero intentions of not renewing any insurance  monthly or annual, then best practice is to contact the company involved before the renewal date and informing them to lapse the policy at the end date as you do not wish to renew.

Auto renew is used by all insurance companies to protect forgetful customers. What would you do if your house burnt down the day after your policy ended and the company had not renewed your policy? Would you just say my fault I forgot? Or scream at them for not contacting you / not renewing?

Contact Admiral. Pay what is now owed. Grovel! Due to Covid, due to self isolating, due to not being at your address etc.
Try and get the cancelation of your policy due to non payment removed from records.

Or this will impact on your future insurance possibilities and increased payments. For many years to come.

Sandtree

ARE007 said:

Just to clarify, this was for an annual sum, rather than monthly installment. I had zero intention of renewing with them and didn't even know there was an automatic renewal.

Makes no difference, if you pay monthly or a lump sum it is still an annual contract.

The email/letter they sent prior to renewal would have been very clear that if you "did nothing" they would take care of you and renew the policy. Whilst clearly they have a vested interest in your renewal the reality is that it has also saved a lot of "forgetful" customers the issues that being uninsured would have caused and also enables lower premiums as insurers don't have an army of renewal customer advisors outbounding people who haven't responded to their renewal notification hence the FCA overall supports it.

dunstonh

Just to clarify, this was for an annual sum, rather than monthly installment. I had zero intention of renewing with them and didn't even know there was an automatic renewal.

All renewal letters must state what happens next if you do or do not wish to renew.    It is not hidden away in the documentation.  It is contained in the main cover letter.   So, you shouldn't be able to miss it unless you do not read the cover letter.

All insurances auto renew now.

No they do not.