Car Insurance Cancellation

DizzyCol7

Hello everyone, I've searched the forum and found similar threads, but wonder can someone advise on this specific matter.

My son (17 yrs) has just passed his test. He has a little car purchased by his grandparents and has saved up for 2 years for the insurance- £2,650. 
The car had 2 non standard modifications on purchase, alloy wheels and a rear roof spoiler. My son does not like the spoiler and his intention always to remove it. 

He has sought and obtained insurance himself (I personally think it's crazy this is allowed, a child entering into a legally binding financial agreement, but hey ho). He paid the year upfront- and added both us parents to it. The car is registered to him as the legal owner and keeper and this is correctly declared on the policy. Of note, I am a police officer of 24 years so would never permit anything illegal etc. 

He declared the allow wheels as a modification, but not the spoiler as he intended to remove it before the policy began on Tues 4th Feb. He added his dad (including claim details) and me.

We have not allowed him to drive the vehicle a) until the policy begins,  b) as the spoiler had not yet been removed and c) as the black box had not yet arrived (he was advised by insurers that he could drive without the black box if it hadn't arrived before the policy begins- again that seems strange)- but I would not allow this. 

On Tues 4th Feb, he received an email from the Insurance marked 'URGENT' requesting photos of the vehicle and a photo of his driving licence (not yet received but test certificate sufficed). 
In his haste to get driving as it's now Tuesday and his policy begins and because the email states URGENT- he takes photos of the vehicle and sends..... with the spoiler still not removed. The spoiler is still in tact due to his dad having difficulty removing and needing a special tool. Tool obtained from neighbour and spoiler to be removed Tuesday evening before allowing the car to be driven.

After sending the photos, son received an emailing giving 7 days' notice of cancellation of the policy. In a blind panic my son calls them and asks why- they state due to the fact the car is different to disclosure due to the spoiler. He becomes upset and explains the spoiler is being removed and he will be able to send photos of it once removed as proof. They won't listen say "you could add it back" and insist the policy is to be cancelled.

My OH then calls them- they insist on speaking to son for permission- he further explains the fault is his, not son's. He states he believes they are acting unfairly as he has explained the spoiler is being removed and if evidence is sent of the removal, why can the policy not exist...
He goes though the policy..... and it actually began on Monday 3rd Feb. So has been insured 24 hours with spoiler intact which wasn't declared. 
OH states he will refer to Ombudsman- insurer then states 'we can't insure the vehicle as the under writer won't insure the spoiler'. OH explains AGAIN the spoiler is being removed- son does not even like it. They won't budge.

This is a simple admin mistake on the part of a 17 year old child. Granted, he is now responsible enough to drive a car- test passed for that- but an oversight/typo in the day the policy began (meant he could actually have driven it a day earlier if we'd allowed it) can surely be reasonable grounds for appeal.

My theory is- 1) if he was going to misrepresent and not declare 1 modification, he would go the whole hog and not declare the wheels thus obtaining an even cheaper policy, 2) not declaring the spoiler then keeping it on the vehicle would invalidate the insurance in the event of a claim... so why would he pay over £2000 for insurance in the first place rather than just not purchase and 3) I feel he has been taken advantage of due to his experience in dealing with complex and critical matters such as vehicle insurance.

Any advice is so very welcomed, but specifically advice on the following:-
1) what I might say to get the insurance reinstated? the chances of this?
2) Can we cancel before the 7 days ends and it then be shown as policy holder cancelled rather than insurer cancelled
3) Any other advice to assist in resolution

Thank you to all in advance
DizzyCol

DullGreyGuy

So it's reasonable that a 17 YO is responsible enough to drive a 2 ton machine capable of going over 100mph and potentially killing many people but not reasonable that they can buy insurance to cover that risk? Contracts of necessity, which compulsory insurance falls under, are open to those under 18. 


Who did you buy the policy from? There are firms out there who's model is based on very close checking of declared facts and they achieve their low premiums because most people are lazy when filling in the forms so plenty of charges will be added later when it turns out their gestimate was wrong. 

Who is the underwriter?


1) Need to know who you bought from, if its from a broker/non-coverholder intermediary the chances are slim because its the insurer/underwriter that makes the rules but you are bound to both the broker and the insurer. It could be another insurer on their panel would have covered it but they cannot switch the policy to another insurer but must cancel the original and rebind with the new insurer

2) Potentially, ultimately ask them and how they will record it on CUE

3) What was the inception date of the policy? Assuming the policy incepted before the spoiler was removed then there is a problem. If it was removed before the policy incepted and the photo was just taken before inception then you have grounds for argument as long as it was removed before the inception. 

The laws around false declarations on insurance are embedded in legislation abbreviated to CIDRA. If they believe it was intentional or reckless false declaration they can void the policy, avoid any claims and keep the premiums (somewhat). If it was careless then they can cancel the policy, avoid any claims but return the premiums less fees if they can show the underwriter wouldn't have accepted it had it been declared correctly, if the underwriter would have accepted it then your effectively underinsured by the difference in premiums (though in practice most allow you to pay the difference). 

On the basis they are talking about cancelling it in 7 days it sounds like they are already accepting it wasnt fraud. 

I would guess its one of two providers, other than they normally ask for the V5c too, and if it is one of them then nothing you can do will change it as technically it was a false declaration if the spoiler was there when the policy came into force. 

Mr.Generous

If they are cancelling in 7 days I'd cancel myself immediately, so when asked "Have you ever had a policy cancelled" I could say no. Grey Guy will be better placed than me to tell you if this is ok. To me they haven't cancelled, they've advised of the intention.

Very interesting about contracts of necessity - knowledge of the laws is always good to store away ...

DizzyCol7

Thank you so much for your help! 

The policy was bought from Hastings Direct, the under writer is I think Advantage Insurance. 

The inception date of the policy was Mon 3rd Feb and the spoiler was still in tact, so you are correct, it is careless rather than fraudulent, which they appear to have accepted as they have retained the policy for 7 days until 11th Feb and refunded the premium minus the days insured and a cancellation fee.

Would you suggest I call them then and ask re the recording on CUE- or is it possible for my son to cancel ahead of the 11th and then it will not be recorded at all?

Thanks again, I appreciate you taking time to reply.

DizzyCol7

Thank you Mr. Generous.

I agree with the contracts of necessity, I absolutely understand this, I just think it's crazy to allow kids to drive at all, oh to be Prime Minister I'd change that as they are certainly not responsible enough as can be seen here. There's a test to pass to drive, but no test of the level of understanding for the contract of necessity. I do agree though.

DullGreyGuy

Mr.Generous said:

Very interesting about contracts of necessity - knowledge of the laws is always good to store away ...

Contrary to popular belief minors can enter into contracts, unless for age restricted things like cigarettes or loans, however the contract isnt binding on the minor. For things like buying a magazine in a shop companies are happy to enter into such a contract because the minor's obligations are fulfilled immediately (they hand over their pocket money) but its why gyms or online services require you to be 18 as otherwise the contract is totally one sided. 

Contracts of necessity (food, accommodation, education, employment etc) are different and are binding on minors else you'd have problems because no one would enter into a tenancy agreement with a 17 year old uni student as they wouldn't have to pay but the landlord would have to go through the whole eviction process to get them out for nothing. 

DizzyCol7 said:
Would you suggest I call them then and ask re the recording on CUE- or is it possible for my son to cancel ahead of the 11th and then it will not be recorded at all?

Its like someone who is suspended from work awaiting disciplinary for gross misconduct... they can resign rather than face the disciplinary but when a reference is requested it normally comes back saying resigned during suspension/whilst under investigation rather than simply resigned. 

You could cancel it, hope they just record it as customer cancelled and buy something else or you could phone them and double check how they'll record it if you cancel it before them for certainty.

DizzyCol7

DullGreyGuy, thank you so much for your advice and help. 
I will make some calls today and see what comes about.
I'll report back in the hope someone else can be helped.
Thanks again
DizzyCol

DullGreyGuy

DizzyCol7 said:

I'll report back in the hope someone else can be helped.

Its always good when people do advise the outcome but this is something thats going to be fairly specific to the company in question and policies/procedures dont last forever so the advice primarily will always remain check with the company in question rather than assume that DL do what Hastings do or that what Hastings does today is the same as what they did 5 years ago.