Learner car insurance cancelled by insurer

WobblyBitsGalore

Hi,

so we got an annual learner car insurance for my son so that he could practice with me in my car. Fast forward a few months, he had just started uni and had to miss a day and come back home just for that day to take his driving test (in instructor's car), which he passed. With all the stress and hectic day he forgot to notify the learner insurance before heading back to uni.

8 days later he got a single missed phone call for them, no message, and then a nice letter congratulating him for passing his driving test (they check with DVSA apparently)… and that the insurance must be cancelled when driving test is passed so that they did.

Didn't think much of it at the time in October (insurance must be cancelled after passing driving test so it is cancelled, all good, right?) but now, having looked for temporary insurace during holidays earlier this month, I am worried about potential adverse consequences…

I am a bit lost about how to approach and handle this so would very much appreciate help.

Mildly_Miffed

You don't handle it. He does.

And, yes, he should have cancelled it as he was required to do. Presumably, he wasn't driving the car post-test? Because he would have been uninsured if he was…

Would it count as a "cancelled policy" to be declared for all time? He'll need to ask an insurer whether they view it as such.

daveyjp

There is nothing to be concerned about, Learner specific policies end when the test is passed, that has happened.

He now has his licence and can move to either standalone, or named driver on a general policy.

Bigwheels1111

I’ve seen it before.

He has passed his test, the insurance is now invalid. Learner no more.

If you read the T&C in the policy it will state this.

I bet learner insurance was cheap ish, where as standard insurance will be thousands.

Now he needs standard car insurance.

It will not affect him at all.

WobblyBitsGalore

Many thanks for the replies so far.

He took his driving test in his instructor's car who then drove him back home. He then went straight back to uni by train so did not drive again nor was he planning too since he has no car. It was understood that the insurance would be invalid once the test was passed and he would not have driven uninsured.

@Mildly_Miffed, well technically, as per the T&Cs, he was only expected to notify the insurance immediately (also if he had changed address, etc). I suppose that they would have replied "Oh, policy must be cancelled, then" and then proceeded to cancel it. That's why I am puzzled about all these potential issues regarding who cancelled, seems like complete theatre in this case.

@Bigwheels1111, yes insurance was not expensive (about £280 for 12 months) and then they charged a further £40 on cancellation (which I wasn't aware of, actually). My suspicion is that this is why they keep a close eye on things: They want to ensure policies are cancelled to collect the cancellation fee. I can understand that.

And yes, the concern is about how this might have been recorded and possibly having to disclose a cancelled policy. The general information I have found online, which is frightening, is that this is a serious black mark, but on the other hand cancelled policies seem to usually occur because of non-payment, fraud, non-disclosure of claims, etc. not "well, I passed my driving test"… Hence both my worry and confusion. That's also why I'd rather he didn't need to ask prospective insurers because I don't know what they'll then input in their little database that might end up shooting himself in the foot for a long time…

Okell

Did the letter actually say that the insurance company had "cancelled" the policy or did it say something else?

Like eg it had expired on passing his test?

WobblyBitsGalore

Hi @Okell , it said that the policy had to be cancelled when test is passed and that they had therefore cancelled it.

jaybeetoo

I don’t believe it will count as a cancellation as the insurance only covered him while he was a learner. As he passed his test the insurance no longer covered him and the T&Cs would say the insurance ends at this point. I think you are worrying unnecessarily.

paul_c123

I can't see how it wouldn't be counted as a cancellation, given the typical wording of the question asked by insurers. Which proper sucks. Lesson learnt though.

Okell

Seems both confusing and unfortunate that the insurance company would deliberately choose to say that they were cancelling the policy rather than say the policy had now expired

WobblyBitsGalore

My understanding is that the policy becomes invalid the instant the test is passed but still needs to be cancelled afterwards… Can't understand the charade of who cancels…

@paul_c123 , yes… It seems that if policy is cancelled by insurance because, for example, you moved somewhere they don't want to cover then it does not count. Seems a bit similar, or I am clutching at straws. Confusing…