Forgot to shop around and now policy has commenced

DullGreyGuy

CliveOfIndia said:

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. 

Unfortunately not true @CliveOfIndia... the rules around cooling off periods and insurance dont require the cancellation to be fee free in the cooling off period, they just have to allow you to cancel it. After the cooling off period there is no statutory right of cancellation however for various reasons a Motor insurer will always allow you to cancel (some other classes you cant cancel post cooling off).

serendipity109 said:

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!!

1) No company is happy about losing a customer but its irrelevant, if she has a cooling off period she is free to exercise it if she wants and just pay any cancellation fee and for the time on cover

2) Yes

3) No, her completed years will still be valid, she'll just lose the day or two towards the next one

4) Snowballs chance in hell of them changing the price of the policy after its come into force. 

Best course of action is to check what other prices are available and check what the cancellation costs are for this policy. You can then decide if its economical to cancel the policy and start a new one or carry on with this one... you may find the renewal price was the cheapest available anyway

Belenus

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.

Once a mother, always a mother.

Belenus

serendipity109 said:

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!

You could find the best quote, find out the cost of cancelling the current policy and, if there is still a significant saving, suggest that your daughter rings up her insurance company and ask them to match that price or she will cancel the insurance.

She might be able to negotiate a deal, maybe the insurance company will meet her half way or offer her a small discount to keep her business.

Worth a phone call maybe.

Good luck.

serendipity109

Belenus said:

serendipity109 said:

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!

You could find the best quote, find out the cost of cancelling the current policy and, if there is still a significant saving, suggest that your daughter rings up her insurance company and ask them to match that price or she will cancel the insurance.

She might be able to negotiate a deal, maybe the insurance company will meet her half way or offer her a small discount to keep her business.

Worth a phone call maybe.

Good luck.

Yes, totally agree, nothing to lose by calling up

Flight3287462

Because you will need to insure it immediately you won't be getting a very good deal these are usually achieved about 3 weeks before renewal.  Also check you are comparing like for like.

Belenus

Flight3287462 said:

Because you will need to insure it immediately you won't be getting a very good deal these are usually achieved about 3 weeks before renewal.  Also check you are comparing like for like.

The OP or her daughter could get quotes giving a starting date of 12 days in the future as that is when the 14 day cooling off period expires.

That might get more attractive quotes.

Bigphil1474

OP, put a reminder in your phone for 11 months time. Assuming you don't change or lose your phone, it's one of the easiest ways to remember to get things like this done. I did my dad's broadband for a few years and always stuck a reminder in my phone. Never failed. 

CliveOfIndia

Bigphil1474 said:

OP, put a reminder in your phone for 11 months time. Assuming you don't change or lose your phone, it's one of the easiest ways to remember to get things like this done. I did my dad's broadband for a few years and always stuck a reminder in my phone. Never failed. 

For years now I've been using MemoToMe - it's a website where you can log dates and it'll send you an email a week or two weeks before, or whatever you choose.  I use it for birthdays, anniversaries, MOT reminders, etc. (though I know you can get MOT reminders from the government website these days).  I've always found it dead easy to use.

I hope it's OK to post this - I'm not affiliated to the website at all, and I'm sure there are dozens of other similar ones out there, but it's just something I find useful and easy to use.

Ganga

chrisw said:

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.

Your not kidding ,my policy is due for renewal next month and Direct Line have just sent me the renewal price,£197 last year this year with one more years NCD ( 6 instead of 5 ) £271 ,called them and they will drop it too £244 but still UP £47 instead of down with more NCD.
Went on comparison sites and despite being over 70 ,retired and drive less than 3000 miles a year with a 19 year old Astra they are still not a lot cheaper.

DullGreyGuy

Ganga said:

Went on comparison sites and despite being over 70 ,retired and drive less than 3000 miles a year with a 19 year old Astra they are still not a lot cheaper.

Both of these are negatives not positives

Once you get to 65 and over premiums start going back up again... never to the levels of 18 year olds  but it is notable increases (see https://www.statista.com/statistics/751199/average-car-insurance-cost-by-age/)

Similarly ultra low mileage is charged at a higher rate than those doing more miles. Insurance is priced on stats not logic but if you did want to rationalise it then if you dont drive enough your skills are simply not kept as fresh as someone who drives more. Going from commuting daily to hiring a car occasionally I certainly know my ability to judge gaps etc is less than it used to be.