Cancelled car insurance - advice needed

rachangel

Hi there, first time poster so please be kind! 
Like all good MSE followers, I decided to shop around on my car insurance renewal, and ended up applying for an online policy with Churchill which included telemetrics (I'm not very technical, but apparently this shouldn't have been offered to me as a middle-aged woman - but I think it reduced the price) so I agreed and happily paid my premium in full upfront.  Two weeks later, I receive a cancellation notice because I had forgotten to get the telemetrics app. Churchill refused to reconsider (I submitted a complaint and they came back with all the measures they had followed to prompt me - I'd been overseas so wasn't checking my emails) so no luck there. Hey ho, I now have to declare a cancellation on all future applications. I swiftly found another provider - One Protect - who charged me an extra £250 for the same cover as I now had the cancellation on my record.  Roll forward 2 weeks, they have threatened to cancel my policy because of a typo in my application (previous claim dated incorrectly) and they have just demanded another £284 to continue to cover me.  I felt I had to pay this as I didn't want another cancellation but feel really done over!!  Can I move my insurance policy to another provider in a month or so? I know I deserve the extra fees for not vigilantly checking my application, but it feels like such a rip off. Thanks - any advice on who might provide cover for muppets like me who have cancelled policies would be a bonus x

Mark_d

With any insurance policy you need to read the conditions carefully.  If your telemetrics policy relies on a smartphone app to get the telemetry data, then this is critical.  You also need too lock your car if you want to be covered against theft.
Accidentally saying your claim was in 2002 rather than 2020 means you pay a lower premium, but technically you would not be insured because your insurance would be invalid.
If you do find a policy that covers someone who doesn't read and abide by the terms and conditions, it would be ridiculously expensive.  Maybe try using train/bus/Uber

dunstonh

I submitted a complaint and they came back with all the measures they had followed to prompt me - I'd been overseas so wasn't checking my emails

In the digital age, being overseas is not a barrier to checking emails.  If you purchase things electronically and select electronic communications, then you need to monitor those communications.   Then again, you wouldn't have got it if they had written to you via post.

 I felt I had to pay this as I didn't want another cancellation but feel really done over!! 

I know you said be kind, and I am, but you need to look at your actions.

a) you failed to follow instructions with the telemetrics
b) you didn't check your emails where there is no excuse not to.
c) you gave incorrect information via a "typo" on a claim (some tolerance is allowed for memory but they expect the year to be correct).

These things all stem from you.  Not the insurers.   So, you are not being done over.   You need to take more care and not blame others for your failings.   

Can I move my insurance policy to another provider in a month or so? 

Yes. However, it may cost you more as you don't get an exact pro-rata refund, and if the misinformation you gave resulted in a higher premium, then it's likely to result in a higher premium elsewhere.  

You may want to try a local broker rather than rely on comparison sites.

DullGreyGuy

rachangel said:
but apparently this shouldn't have been offered to me as a middle-aged woman - but I think it reduced the price) so I agreed and happily paid my premium in full upfront.

Telematic policies can be bought by anyone, there may be many that it doesn't make economic sense for but plenty of low distance drivers etc that find they are cheaper than a regular policy even if they are middle aged