Effect of having insurance cancelled

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Sat 15 Mar 2003 14:00
Effect of having insurance cancelled - JamesH
I'm shopping around on the internet for car insurance for my sister. I decided to try www.confused.com to get some quotes for my sister. However, as she had her policy cancelled two years ago, only two insurers were willing to quote. What Mark (RLBS) says about having difficulty in this situation is certainly true.

It is unfortunate as the cancellation wasn't her fault. A popular scam with young people is to only put themselves as named drivers. My sister rightly didn't want to do this and has always had her own policy.

Another scam is to put a low-risk parents address when keeping the car in a high-risk area. Again, my sister wanted to be 100% honest and told the broker to insure the car at her university address in Birmingham, since she would spend most time there. She did say that the car was registered at our parent’s house in rural Norfolk. The broker managed to sell my sister a breakdown policy, suggesting it would be very helpful when making the Norfolk to Birmingham journey.

Midway through the policy, after a failed break-in attempt, my sister didn't want the car at uni any more and tried to transfer the insurance back to the Norfolk address, where the car would be left.

The insurer's response was that this policy was not suitable for students living away from home, as part of a seven-day cancellation notice. After arguing with the broker and insurer, nothing was resolved. I found her a policy with a company that doesn't ask about cancelled policies.

The Confused website bundles the cancellation question in with having insurance refused or having special terms imposed so it has to be answered Yes.

There are companies that do not see the cancellation as a problem and at least my sister now has four years NCD so premiums are low. The cancellation questions never seem to have a time limit - my sister could be blighted by this broker's error for the rest of her driving life.

It seems unfair that being honest to a broker/insurer can mean getting heavily penalised, whereas many dishonest people get away with it.

James
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