Insurer cancelling New Young Driver Insurance
barneybeagle
Posts: 134 Forumite
Hi there,
I’m asking for some advice regarding a car insurance policy that my son has, in which the Company has informed him that they will cancel his cover in 7 days because the Black Box fitted on the car is showing him up to be a bad driver. He has only recently passed his test so is a new driver and is under 20 years old. The car is worth about £2500. The insurance cost us nearly £2000.
Some history: A few weeks ago he had his car smashed into while static and the other driver drove off. Although we reported it to the Police, the driver has not been found. Not his fault, but I believe this bump which was quite serious, registers in the Black box. We did not inform or claim on the insurance, just got it repaired ourselves. However, only last week he hit a car in front of him with only a small bit of damage to the persons light in which has been paid for and sorted again, without going through the insurance, but again I believe this registers on the Black Box.
He is not a bad driver, but has had some bad luck and I believe the Black Box may not be registering everything in the right light. Regardless, they have said that they will cancel his insurance. This was only issued about 3 days after a warning about his driving, so it all came about very quickly and has shocked us.
Reading the Terms and Conditions, it seems that they may well offer us a bit of leniency, but if he messes up again, they can cancel the policy immediately with no notice. This will then stay on his record and trying to get insurance will be a nightmare and a very costly one.
I have read that it may be best to cancel the policy ourselves ahead of their cancellation date, then it is down as us cancelling and not them cancelling our policy, which I would have to declare to future Insurers. I know there will be extortionate cancellation costs and the insurance refund will be on a pro-rata basis, but this may well be the best option.
Can I ask what any of the Forum users think, especially some who have had to cross this bridge. I just feel these Insurance Companies are ripping off the young ones and god knows how those on low wages/budgets manage as the emphasis these days is on getting a Black Box fitted. The next insurance we get for the lad will be without a Black Box and I would advise anyone looking at getting New Driver Insurance to think deeply about it. A few hundred quid may just give you more peace of mind.
Appreciate any advice
Thanks in advance
BB
I’m asking for some advice regarding a car insurance policy that my son has, in which the Company has informed him that they will cancel his cover in 7 days because the Black Box fitted on the car is showing him up to be a bad driver. He has only recently passed his test so is a new driver and is under 20 years old. The car is worth about £2500. The insurance cost us nearly £2000.
Some history: A few weeks ago he had his car smashed into while static and the other driver drove off. Although we reported it to the Police, the driver has not been found. Not his fault, but I believe this bump which was quite serious, registers in the Black box. We did not inform or claim on the insurance, just got it repaired ourselves. However, only last week he hit a car in front of him with only a small bit of damage to the persons light in which has been paid for and sorted again, without going through the insurance, but again I believe this registers on the Black Box.
He is not a bad driver, but has had some bad luck and I believe the Black Box may not be registering everything in the right light. Regardless, they have said that they will cancel his insurance. This was only issued about 3 days after a warning about his driving, so it all came about very quickly and has shocked us.
Reading the Terms and Conditions, it seems that they may well offer us a bit of leniency, but if he messes up again, they can cancel the policy immediately with no notice. This will then stay on his record and trying to get insurance will be a nightmare and a very costly one.
I have read that it may be best to cancel the policy ourselves ahead of their cancellation date, then it is down as us cancelling and not them cancelling our policy, which I would have to declare to future Insurers. I know there will be extortionate cancellation costs and the insurance refund will be on a pro-rata basis, but this may well be the best option.
Can I ask what any of the Forum users think, especially some who have had to cross this bridge. I just feel these Insurance Companies are ripping off the young ones and god knows how those on low wages/budgets manage as the emphasis these days is on getting a Black Box fitted. The next insurance we get for the lad will be without a Black Box and I would advise anyone looking at getting New Driver Insurance to think deeply about it. A few hundred quid may just give you more peace of mind.
Appreciate any advice
Thanks in advance
BB
0
Comments
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Even if you don't claim you have to inform your insurers of an incident. Not following the T&Cs of an insurance policy can be grounds for the insurer to cancel it.
I would read the insurance terms and actually take notice of what you need to do if there is an incident and what the black box measures.
The driver obviously isn't that good if they have hit another car and have had a bad driving warning.0 -
barneybeagle wrote: »I just feel these Insurance Companies are ripping off the young ones
Given his driving history to date, I'm not sure that feeling withstands scrutiny.0 -
what car is it to be £2k insurance? My 17 yr old daughter's VW polo is £800 with a black box.I’m a Senior Forum Ambassador and I support the Forum Team on the Pensions, Annuities & Retirement Planning, Loans
& Credit Cards boards. If you need any help on these boards, do let me know. Please note that Ambassadors are not moderators. Any posts you spot in breach of the Forum Rules should be reported via the report button, or by emailing forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com.
All views are my own and not the official line of MoneySavingExpert.0 -
Why do you believe that it is the data that is wrong rather than your son's driving? Why exactly have they said they are going to cancel - is it due to excessive speed or just consistently poor driving behaviour scores?
Either way, if you do have the option to cancel yourself then take advantage of it - if you think £2k is expensive wait until you see the prices with a cancelled policy on his record!All matter is merely energy condensed to a slow vibration, we are all one consciousness experiencing itself subjectively, there is no such thing as death, life is only a dream, and we are the imagination of ourselves.0 -
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He has had two crashes and not told them. Given it's pretty raw data they get then absent of being told about the circumstances they can only conclude it's very bad driving.0
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Presumably, by not declaring the crashes, your son has committed insurance fraud and therefore represents an unacceptable risk.0
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Thanks for the replies and we were not aware that we have to declare an incident to the insurance if we sort it out. What is done is done, that is in the past and we cannot change that. The information I was trying to gleen was is it better to cancel the insurance and start again or try for leniency and an extension, which carries the risk of immediate cancellation if he has anymore bad driving or knocks.
Cheers anyway!
bb0 -
Do whatever you can to avoid a cancellation by the insurance company. If they cancel it he will find future insurance extremely difficult to obtain.0
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Thank you Waamo, cancelling tomorrow. Cheers.
bb0
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