Car insurance disaster

scruffyted

My son owns a car. His partner drove it and insured it. I paid the tax by monthly direct debit. When my son’s partner left, also leaving two young children, the car was left parked on my property. DVLA continued to take the monthly tax payment and did not send a SORN reminder even though the insurance must have lapsed. Yes, we forgot to SORN it but to be honest we had other problems. 

In July 2020, my son tried to insure the car. He paid the premium and received the documents. A month later they cancelled it because there had been a break in cover. He finally got a partial refund. Company 2 was told all the details, assured him it wasn’t a problem, and took the payment. Now they too have cancelled because he allegedly omitted to say that Company 1 had cancelled his policy. So far they are offering to refund a derisory amount. Company 3, Swinton Insurance, cannot cover him at all because they are in the same group as Companies 1 & 2 and Company 2 should not even have given him a policy because of that. He has been told that he will need ‘specialist insurance’ for the next 6 years, obviously at an inflated premium. Give that he has to work a shortened day, fitted around school hours and receives no support from the children’s mum, in spite of being given custody, this is yet another disaster. Any advice would be more than welcome.

[Deleted User]

He may be paying a higher premium for more than 6 years with a cancelled policy.

If he finds someone to insure him, he should grab it.

RBN20

Sounds like he’s had a rough time of it, and mistakes happen. 

It might be worth him contacting a broker to see if they can point him in the right direction of a company that will take him on

[Deleted User]

You need to get the first company to un-cancel it so you don't have to declare it. They would presumably insure you with the gap in cover and not reporting it was a genuine mistake.

Then get on to the second company and explain there is no longer a cancellation.

frederick1950

Who was the policyholder of the original insurance?
If it was in your son's name he has shot himself in the foot by not managing his affairs properly.
If it was in his partners name they should be the ones with a cancelled policy on their record.
You do say
'company 1 had cancelled HIS policy".
 But you also say
" his partner drove it and insured it ' ?
Conflicting information .

Sandtree

frederick1950 said:

Who was the policyholder of the original insurance?
If it was in your son's name he has shot himself in the foot by not managing his affairs properly.
If it was in his partners name they should be the ones with a cancelled policy on their record.
You do say
'company 1 had cancelled HIS policy".
 But you also say
" his partner drove it and insured it ' ?
Conflicting information .

scruffyted said:

the insurance must have lapsed. Yes, we forgot to SORN it but to be honest we had other problems. 

In July 2020, my son tried to insure the car. He paid the premium and received the documents. A month later they cancelled it because there had been a break in cover.

The OP stated that it was original insured by the partner then the son took out a policy in his own name some time later.

I am not sure there is a complete story here though as a "break in cover" in itself is not grounds for cancelling car insurance, at least I cannot think of any car insurer that asks how many continuous years you've held insurance. Plus even if there was the answer will have been 0 as the insurance wasn't previously in his name. It strongly sounds like there has been some other form of non-disclosure or false disclosure.

Most insurance companies ask "have you EVER had insurance cancelled, declined etc" so your son firstly needs to make damned sure he is declaring this to his next insurer and has to remember to declare it to all his insurers not just car insurance.

dunstonh

Swinton Insurance, cannot cover him at all because they are in the same group as Companies 1 & 2 and Company 2 should not even have given him a policy because of that.

Remember that company 2 were not told about the original cancellation.  So, when they found out, they withdrew cover.  If they had not been lied to on the application, they would not have offered cover.

He has been told that he will need ‘specialist insurance’ for the next 6 years, obviously at an inflated premium

It will be longer than 6 years as most insurers ask "have you ever had...."   They do not put a timescale on it.   And he has had 2 cancellations by insurers which makes him very high risk.  It will also apply to home insurance and some other types.

Give that he has to work a shortened day, fitted around school hours and receives no support from the children’s mum, in spite of being given custody, this is yet another disaster. Any advice would be more than welcome.

The key is to answer questions truthfully.  Insurers do not like people who tell them porkies.  They penalise those that do.

However, there are some inconsistencies.  Such as policy being voided because of a break in cover.   That is not a normal cancellation reason.   So, maybe finding out what the real reason is could help.   

Some insurers may disregard a cancellation due to minor reason but a cancellation for non-disclosure is a big turn off for them.  Two non-disclosure voided policies is not at all good.

Ditzy_Mitzy

I agree with @Sandtree, it feels like there's something missing.  The DVLA uses the MID database, apparently, to check whether cars are insured under the new continuous insurance requirement.  If the insurance on a car lapses, the procedure is for the DVLA to send a letter requiring the keeper to either arrange new cover or declare SORN.  If neither is done, the keeper can be issued with a £100 fixed penalty and then, if no action is taken subsequently, the keeper can be pursued through the courts.
The crucial point is that it is not possible to pay for road tax by monthly Direct Debit if the car isn't insured.  The OP claims to have been paying tax, therefore the car must have been insured during that period.  
There has to be a more compelling reason for the first insurance company cancelling the policy, it wouldn't be done on a whim.

Jumblebumble

scruffyted said:

My son owns a car. His partner drove it and insured it. I paid the tax by monthly direct debit. When my son’s partner left, also leaving two young children, the car was left parked on my property. DVLA continued to take the monthly tax payment and did not send a SORN reminder even though the insurance must have lapsed. Yes, we forgot to SORN it but to be honest we had other problems. 

In July 2020, my son tried to insure the car. He paid the premium and received the documents. A month later they cancelled it because there had been a break in cover. He finally got a partial refund. Company 2 was told all the details, assured him it wasn’t a problem, and took the payment. Now they too have cancelled because he allegedly omitted to say that Company 1 had cancelled his policy. So far they are offering to refund a derisory amount. Company 3, Swinton Insurance, cannot cover him at all because they are in the same group as Companies 1 & 2 and Company 2 should not even have given him a policy because of that. He has been told that he will need ‘specialist insurance’ for the next 6 years, obviously at an inflated premium. Give that he has to work a shortened day, fitted around school hours and receives no support from the children’s mum, in spite of being given custody, this is yet another disaster. Any advice would be more than welcome.

Far too many details missing to help
Why should any insurer want to know about a break in cover and cancel if you had one.?
(unless you mean the car was broken into and not declared or he claimed no claims discount that he was not entitled to
If company 2 were told all the details why did they they have a problem?
Did he answer the question asked by company 2 about cancelled insurance correctly ?
Using the phrase allegedly is unhelpful as he would have answered either yes or no..

frederick1950

Could it have been cancelled because he has stated he has x years ncd but it was over two years old so it wasnt valid and they have found out.
I just feel we arent gettng the full story ? 

TheStoozeFather

frederick1950 said:

Could it have been cancelled because he has stated he has x years ncd but it was over two years old so it wasnt valid and they have found out.
I just feel we arent gettng the full story ? 

I suspect the 'break in cover' relates to the NCD entitlement too, though I can't imagine the insurer not contacting him about this and offering a new price with revised NCD...