Car Insurance is this legal

nicky135

Hello, question if anyone knows, Do I legally have to tell my old car insurance company who my new my new policy is with?

Zenith car insurance tell me they will automatically renew my policy unless I tell them who my insure with, it’s not enough to just say I don’t accept their quote and don’t want to renew. They say they will automatically renew and charge my bank account if I don’t tell them who my new policy is with. surely I won’t be their customer anymore, what’s it their business? So the question is do I legally have to tell them? 

TadleyBaggie

Does it really matter, what issue does it cause you if they know?

elsien

Company being over-zealous and heavy-handed – would annoy me as well.

nicky135

It doesn’t I know it’s silly isn’t it but when you want to cancel any other service or not renew you don’t need to inform the old company 

elsien

I don’t know if they can see on the insurance database or not anyway but I’ve never informed the company I was leaving who the new insurer is. 

Brie

Perhaps it's to confirm to the new company what your no claims is?  I've never been asked and that's the only reason I can think of why they would need to know so they don't release any info to someone they shouldn't.  Otherwise it would likely be something to do with their marketing - who's the competition so they can get some boffin to analyse all sorts of things.  

But I would say it's none of their business.  Check the T&Cs and see if there's anything in there about ending your relationship with them.  Likely it will be something simple like "you must tell us 14 days before your policy term ends else we will automatically renew and if you then wish to cancel the renewed policy you will be charge an admin fee of £XX."

TELLIT01

If you have had a renewal quote through from Zenith that should have details of your current no-claims bonus.  When I informed my old insurer that I wasn't going to renew as I had a quote at less than half their price they didn't ask who the new insurer was.  I also received a letter from them separately, confirming my NCD.

tightauldgit

I'm not aware of any reason that an insurance company could give for insisting on knowing your new insurer nor should it really matter. Which leaves you three options

1. Tell them and be done with it
2. Lie to them, provide a false insurers name and be done with it
3. Battle it out with them - which might be as simple as calling back and speaking to a different CS person. 

I suspect what you may have been being told is 'I don't know how to process this form without putting in the new insurer's name so I can't cancel your renewal unless you tell me'. Personally I'd just tell them, it's no skin off my nose. 

Marvel1

I never have.

DullGreyGuy

elsien said:

I don’t know if they can see on the insurance database or not anyway but I’ve never informed the company I was leaving who the new insurer is. 

In principle they could if they wanted after the event but I doubt it would be a legitimate reason to query the db.

Ultimately if the T&Cs said it then in theory they could require it however it's likely to fall foul of the FCA's rules around ease of switching etc.