Forgot to shop around and now policy has commenced

serendipity109

Yes I know, I know.....my daughter let her policy auto renew without shopping around, this year was the first I didn't nag her to shop around a month before I assumed (wrongly) she was on the ball but she let it lapse and auto renew, scatter brained 26 yo
So my question is (think I know the answer) the policy starts today and she has 14 days cooling off period however.....
1. I don't think any insurer will be happy anyway as her policy has effectively expired yesterday
2. If she changes they'll be an admin fee
3. If she changes she will probably lose a years no claims (she currently has 4 precious years)
I have advised her to contact her current insurers to see if they can do anything with the price if this is possible, clutching at straws but it was 430 last year and they have renews at a whopping 560.
Any other ideas wise forummers? Other than diarise for year which I have suggested!!

CliveOfIndia

Check the T&Cs of the existing (auto-renewed) policy, but if there is indeed a 14 day cooling-off period then she should be able to cancel it without charge.  Her no-claims discount will be honoured by any new insurer - they will usually ask for proof of the NCD from her previous insurer which should be on her renewal invitation document.

As long as there's no fee for cancelling within 14 days then there should be no problem.  The only slight downside is that any quote she gets for a new policy is likely to be a little bit more than it would usually be if she wants it to start immediately - you tend to get the best quotes by applying about 20 days or so before you want the policy to start.  But if she can still get a cheaper quote then no problem.

Emmia

Is the policy that has auto renewed a similar price to a new policy with a different insurer? Or wildly more expensive? 

Perhaps let this be a lesson to her not to rely on your nagging... she is 26 and should be able to sort this out for herself.

*if she really is very scatterbrained, perhaps it is better it auto renewed, otherwise she could potentially have been driving uninsured, with the possible consequences that would entail.

Ayr_Rage

Do check carefully if there is a cooling off period, it only normally applies to new policies.

chrisw

Run some quotes first as car insurance prices seem to have jumped up this year. You'll then need to work out whether it's cost effective to cancel and reapply.

Although she may be able to cancel within the 14 days, there may be an admin fee and she will also have to pay for the time on cover.

A new insurer won't be worried in the slightest that her previous policy had expired and will still honour the 4 years no claims.

If she sticks with the current policy, hopefully she will learn and understand the reasons to shop around next time.

serendipity109

Emmia said:

Is the policy that has auto renewed a similar price to a new policy with a different insurer? Or wildly more expensive? 

Perhaps let this be a lesson to her not to rely on your nagging... she is 26 and should be able to sort this out for herself.

*if she really is very scatterbrained, perhaps it is better it auto renewed, otherwise she could potentially have been driving uninsured, with the possible consequences that would entail.

I am going to run a comparison and exactly my thoughts Emmia!!

serendipity109

Ayr_Rage said:

Do check carefully if there is a cooling off period, it only normally applies to new policies.

The email did say although it had renewed there would be a 14 day cooling off period so I think that's OK

serendipity109

I am just exasperated as she could have saved some hard earned cash here!
I will run some comparison sites and see if they are wildly over the top with the renewal price.

serendipity109

On running the quotes, I can see that with todays dates there's only about 60 pounds difference with another insurer, however if I put in the date a month from now there is about 100 pounds, so it's probably not worth changing.
Hoping this will drum into her the importance of finding a quote earlier!

Emmia

serendipity109 said:

I am just exasperated as she could have saved some hard earned cash here!
I will run some comparison sites and see if they are wildly over the top with the renewal price.

Why are you doing the comparison, it's her insurance, and she's 26. It's her responsibility to do the comparison, decide who to go with for the policy, etc.

If she's not bothered about the cost /saving money, then leave it be... it's her money, not yours she's wasting.

serendipity109

Emmia said:

serendipity109 said:

I am just exasperated as she could have saved some hard earned cash here!
I will run some comparison sites and see if they are wildly over the top with the renewal price.

Why are you doing the comparison, it's her insurance, and she's 26. It's her responsibility to do the comparison, decide who to go with for the policy, etc.

If she's not bothered about the cost /saving money, then leave it be... it's her money, not yours she's wasting.

Because she's my daughter, it's a personal thing, she needs a lot of support and you don't know her or my circumstances....so please don't judge, it's not helpful