Car Insurance company won't transfer my son's policy.

CrustySweetRoll

My son who is 21 and finishing his Engineering Apprenticeship in a few months has been driving the Honda Civic that I gave him in November '22. The rust got to it and we decided to scrap it and get him something reliable to go to work. He took out a personal loan and this morning we picked up a Diesel VW Golf for £7400.

His insurance company (Hastings Direct) have refused to transfer the policy to the VW, won''t tell him why AND have charged him a ridiculous exit fee!! He''s had to get a £2000/year policy setting him right back to when he was 17.

Is charging an exit fee when you have been pushed out of the door even legal? 

When hard working people like my son are trying hard to get a leg up in life this is just a slap in the face.

GrumpyDil

They can choose to not provide cover on the new car and to charge a cancellation fee.

Although their site suggests the cancellation fee should be 45.00.

Presumably your son had some NCD to take with him so the increase in the cost will be down to the newer, more expensive and I assume, higher insurance group car. 

WellKnownSid

My son’s 18-22 y/o friends all drive Golfs.  Insurance is a minimum 2x what he pays for his sensible French saloon. Might be a boy-racer thing?

CrustySweetRoll

GrumpyDil said:

They can choose to not provide cover on the new car and to charge a cancellation fee.

Although their site suggests the cancellation fee should be 45.00.

Presumably your son had some NCD to take with him so the increase in the cost will be down to the newer, more expensive and I assume, higher insurance group car. 

Yes you're right about the cancellation fee, I thought it was £500 but it was £50, texting typo thankfully.

He had actually contacted them yesterday to get a ball-park figure and they had said £850 over the phone and to just say "No" leaving him with a purchased vehicle...its not a business model I'd use.

CrustySweetRoll

WellKnownSid said:

My son’s 18-22 y/o friends all drive Golfs.  Insurance is a minimum 2x what he pays for his sensible French saloon. Might be a boy-racer thing?

As said he was driving a Honda Civic, the boy racers 1st choice for decades past (in fact I was in two minds whether to give it to him thinking the insurance would be silly money) and that was well under £1000.

ontheroad1970

CrustySweetRoll said:

WellKnownSid said:

My son’s 18-22 y/o friends all drive Golfs.  Insurance is a minimum 2x what he pays for his sensible French saloon. Might be a boy-racer thing?

As said he was driving a Honda Civic, the boy racers 1st choice for decades past (in fact I was in two minds whether to give it to him thinking the insurance would be silly money) and that was well under £1000.

The bay racers heard that Honda's were pensioner's cars and moved on to something else.  

forgotmyname

He didn't get quotes before swapping vehicle, a lesson for the future and one I had myself.  Years ago running around in a 1.3L
Metro and was offered a 3.5L V8 Rover for pennies.  Strangely the insurance said no chance go away.

Never occured to me that a 20 year old with a 3.5L V8 would be an issue, especially when the previous car was a little hatchback.

Had some strange quotes over the years, a 2L diesel was more expensive to insure than the much faster Turbo Petrol version of the car,
almost bought the petrol one until i saw the previous keeper lived very close to me and the dealer said yeah he was fed up of people
stealing it.  I doubt he made salesman of the year.

born_again

CrustySweetRoll said:

My son who is 21 and finishing his Engineering Apprenticeship in a few months has been driving the Honda Civic that I gave him in November '22. The rust got to it and we decided to scrap it and get him something reliable to go to work. He took out a personal loan and this morning we picked up a Diesel VW Golf for £7400.

His insurance company (Hastings Direct) have refused to transfer the policy to the VW, won''t tell him why AND have charged him a ridiculous exit fee!! He''s had to get a £2000/year policy setting him right back to when he was 17.

Is charging an exit fee when you have been pushed out of the door even legal? 

When hard working people like my son are trying hard to get a leg up in life this is just a slap in the face.

Was this policy on a monthly payment plan?
Which is taking a loan out to pay the annual premium, so does not have a easy out as there is interest to pay?
Many people who pay monthly find this, especially when stopping within a few months. As they have paid back, no where near what the policy cost was.

bigstevex

Sorry but this is no way the insurance companies fault as you should have asked for a formal quote prior to purchasing the car, it's an expensive life lesson though I agree but they are well within their rights to refuse to insure the new vehicle as the risk profile changes to something they won't insure evidently.

DullGreyGuy

CrustySweetRoll said:

GrumpyDil said:

They can choose to not provide cover on the new car and to charge a cancellation fee.

Although their site suggests the cancellation fee should be 45.00.

Presumably your son had some NCD to take with him so the increase in the cost will be down to the newer, more expensive and I assume, higher insurance group car. 

Yes you're right about the cancellation fee, I thought it was £500 but it was £50, texting typo thankfully.

He had actually contacted them yesterday to get a ball-park figure and they had said £850 over the phone and to just say "No" leaving him with a purchased vehicle...its not a business model I'd use.

Appreciate you've already realised that cancellation fee isnt what you thought it was but its always important to cancel the old policy and not just let it run out... for older drivers the £50 could be more than the monthly payments left due and so they're tempted to just let it run on.

Legally, if there is an insurance policy on a vehicle that insurer may have to payout even if the driver isnt covered by the policy in question. If the insured has consented to this person driving their car (let their mate borrow the car or sold it and allowed the new owner to drive it) then there insurer has a legal right to recover their outlay from their insured.  There was a two cases on here not that long ago with one being chased for £20,000... as a former claim technician I once had a claim almost 5 times that. 

jimjames

DullGreyGuy said:

CrustySweetRoll said:

GrumpyDil said:

They can choose to not provide cover on the new car and to charge a cancellation fee.

Although their site suggests the cancellation fee should be 45.00.

Presumably your son had some NCD to take with him so the increase in the cost will be down to the newer, more expensive and I assume, higher insurance group car. 

Yes you're right about the cancellation fee, I thought it was £500 but it was £50, texting typo thankfully.

He had actually contacted them yesterday to get a ball-park figure and they had said £850 over the phone and to just say "No" leaving him with a purchased vehicle...its not a business model I'd use.

Appreciate you've already realised that cancellation fee isnt what you thought it was but its always important to cancel the old policy and not just let it run out... for older drivers the £50 could be more than the monthly payments left due and so they're tempted to just let it run on.

In the past I've let policy run on but with no vehicle on it which avoided the cancellation cost