Car Insurance cancellation, unscupulous charge?

sandyring

I have a question, I had a vehicle with a well known insurer, 1 month left of the policy (which was paid up in full), I sold the vehicle, now they have essentially decided to charge me almost £30 for the privilage, whereas if I let the policy elapse, there would have been no additional charge.
I did not authorise this cancellation as such, they are doing this automatically as I informed them I no longer have the vehicle.
Is it a requirement by law that you need to let them know you have sold the vehicle? - there was an excuse about having to cancel otherwise the new owner of the vehicle could make a claim using my policy, REALLY?! - they don't want to pay out in as many cases as possible to maintain profits, so this smells like an excuse to extort more funds from a customer?.

williamgriffin

sandyring said:

I have a question, I had a vehicle with a well known insurer, 1 month left of the policy (which was paid up in full), I sold the vehicle, now they have essentially decided to charge me almost £30 for the privilage, whereas if I let the policy elapse, there would have been no additional charge.
I did not authorise this cancellation as such, they are doing this automatically as I informed them I no longer have the vehicle.
Is it a requirement by law that you need to let them know you have sold the vehicle? - there was an excuse about having to cancel otherwise the new owner of the vehicle could make a claim using my policy, REALLY?! - they don't want to pay out in as many cases as possible to maintain profits, so this smells like an excuse to extort more funds from a customer?.

The new owner can't claim but any third party could.

You were happy with the insurance 11 months ago.

Supersonos

Did your contract say they'd charge this £30 fee if you cancelled the policy within the twelve months?  If so...  not sure what you're complaining about.

Hasbeen

sandyring said:

I have a question, I had a vehicle with a well known insurer, 1 month left of the policy (which was paid up in full), I sold the vehicle, now they have essentially decided to charge me almost £30 for the privilage, whereas if I let the policy elapse, there would have been no additional charge.
I did not authorise this cancellation as such, they are doing this automatically as I informed them I no longer have the vehicle.
Is it a requirement by law that you need to let them know you have sold the vehicle? - there was an excuse about having to cancel otherwise the new owner of the vehicle could make a claim using my policy, REALLY?! - they don't want to pay out in as many cases as possible to maintain profits, so this smells like an excuse to extort more funds from a customer?.

Yes REALLY?!

And you would also pay any excess.  

What is on the T&Cs you agreed to regarding cancellation?

Car_54

sandyring said:

I have a question, I had a vehicle with a well known insurer, 1 month left of the policy (which was paid up in full), I sold the vehicle, now they have essentially decided to charge me almost £30 for the privilage, whereas if I let the policy elapse, there would have been no additional charge.
I did not authorise this cancellation as such, they are doing this automatically as I informed them I no longer have the vehicle.
Is it a requirement by law that you need to let them know you have sold the vehicle? - there was an excuse about having to cancel otherwise the new owner of the vehicle could make a claim using my policy, REALLY?! - they don't want to pay out in as many cases as possible to maintain profits, so this smells like an excuse to extort more funds from a customer?.

It's not an excuse, but they may not have explained properly.

It's not a case of the new owner using your policy. Rather, if the new owner didn't insure it, and there was a 3rd party claim, then your insurer would be responsible. However, they would then be entitled to claim their losses from you, as you'd be in breach of contract by not informing them you'd sold the car.

AdrianC

sandyring said:

Is it a requirement by law that you need to let them know you have sold the vehicle? - there was an excuse about having to cancel otherwise the new owner of the vehicle could make a claim using my policy, REALLY?!

This is very true.

They are still listed as the insurers-of-record on the central insurance database. If the buyer doesn't insure the vehicle, your policy is on the hook if they have an incident before your policy lapses.

https://www.visordown.com/news/general/biker-may-be-forced-pay-thousands-after-banned-new-owner-has-fatal-crash

And, yes, that's something YOU would have to declare for years to come...

What does your policy paperwork say about cancellation charges?

sandyring

thanks all for your replies, I still find it interesting knowing of instances of where insurance companies have wiggled or tried to wiggle out of paying genuine claims, yet they could be help accountable for a situation whereby the owner of the vehicle with the policy had proof they had sold the vehicle yet they (the insurance company) would still be accountable.

AdrianC

It's very simple. It's illegal for insurers to "wiggle" out of paying third party claims, as long as they're the insurer of record on MID.

They can, however, hand the bill back to their policyholder where the vehicle's not being used in accordance with the policy... And if you read that policy, it'll tell you that you need to only allow insured people to drive it, and you need to tell them when you sell it.

And what was said about the cancellation charges in the documentation you got when you took the policy out?

NottinghamKnight

sandyring said:

thanks all for your replies, I still find it interesting knowing of instances of where insurance companies have wiggled or tried to wiggle out of paying genuine claims, yet they could be help accountable for a situation whereby the owner of the vehicle with the policy had proof they had sold the vehicle yet they (the insurance company) would still be accountable.

yes they would, and they would come back to you for the hundred thousand or whatever claim that may arise. 

facade

It is just another way of making money that you get with the cut price boys.

  You would think that if it were true, rather than a well publicised Urban Myth, that not cancelling the policy could cost them hundreds of thousands, with no realistic possibility of ever getting that back, (As if they are going to get £500,000 out of me on a pension- 30 bob a week more like) it would be in their interest to cancel it with no charge.

NottinghamKnight

facade said:

It is just another way of making money that you get with the cut price boys.

  You would think that if it were true, rather than a well publicised Urban Myth, that not cancelling the policy could cost them hundreds of thousands, with no realistic possibility of ever getting that back, (As if they are going to get £500,000 out of me on a pension- 30 bob a week more like) it would be in their interest to cancel it with no charge.

There was a thread on this board a couple of months ago from an individual who was being chased for £200k+, whether it was true we can't be certain.