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Car Insurance

Cover hadn't started so the refund was not abated for any cover used.

However, as you had caused the Insurer to spend resource on setting up the policy and cancelling after you had agreed to the Ts&Cs, they have can charge a "reasonable" admin fee.

From
The Financial Services (Distance Marketing) Regulations 2004

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2004/2095/regulation/13

(6) Subject to paragraphs (7), (8) and (9), the supplier may make a charge for any service actually provided by the supplier in accordance with the contract.

(7) The charge shall not exceed an amount which is in proportion to the extent of the service provided to the consumer prior to the time at which the cancellation event occurred (including the service of arranging to provide the financial service) in comparison with the full coverage of the contract, and in any event shall not be such that it could be construed as a penalty.



So check the Ts&Cs - if they state that cancellation fees are part of the service then you have to that and para (6) above applies
 
Seeker_UK said:
Cover hadn't started so the refund was not abated for any cover used.

However, as you had caused the Insurer to spend resource on setting up the policy and cancelling after you had agreed to the Ts&Cs, they have can charge a "reasonable" admin fee.

From
The Financial Services (Distance Marketing) Regulations 2004

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2004/2095/regulation/13

(6) Subject to paragraphs (7), (8) and (9), the supplier may make a charge for any service actually provided by the supplier in accordance with the contract.

(7) The charge shall not exceed an amount which is in proportion to the extent of the service provided to the consumer prior to the time at which the cancellation event occurred (including the service of arranging to provide the financial service) in comparison with the full coverage of the contract, and in any event shall not be such that it could be construed as a penalty.



So check the Ts&Cs - if they state that cancellation fees are part of the service then you have to that and para (6) above applies
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OK it seems to come down to this, they didn't cancel the policy until 4 days after I sent the cancellation email thus allowing the policy to come in to force, I assume that it's the date the email was sent and not the day it was dealt with, as they have obviously charged me for the days it was in force ?
 
Central Audio said:
OK it seems to come down to this, they didn't cancel the policy until 4 days after I sent the cancellation email thus allowing the policy to come in to force, I assume that it's the date the email was sent and not the day it was dealt with, as they have obviously charged me for the days it was in force ?
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Just a couple of things.

You entered into a contract with the insurer from the moment that the offer was made and the contract concludes when you accept the insurer's offer to start cover on a certain date and for an agreed period . AIUI, fees are applicable during this 'contract of insurance' (check the Ts&Cs you agred to).

Also, and this is important to consider, the fee and refund for the insurance cover you pad for but did not use are totally different things The fee is a charge on you to cover their their costs to cancel and not related to the premium. Strictly speaking, they should refund the premium in full and invoice you for the fee and you can slug it out for the £20 in the Small Claims Court.

As a parallel (albeit different regs), if someone buys something from you by mail order and they return it for a full refund, do you refund them their P&P for the initial purchase? Probably not, as it's unrecoverable costs and to do so would start to impact on your ability to make al iving.

Also, and only applicable if they are deducting 4-day's cover (as opposed to charging a fee) you'll need to prove they received the e-mail on the date you claim (read or delivered receipt) to have a case.
 
dweezil said:
Most of the work is done before the policy incepts so a fee is fair.

If you get a dozen quotes you've probably cost the industry more than a full premium already.
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A side issue so I don't want to distract unnecessarily, but AIUI insurance quotes, especially motor insurance, are largely automated these days anyway. Unless you contact each insurer directly and request a quote manually, from a real person, rather than doing it online via the 'quote me' section of their website, I think the costs of providing a quote are likely close to nil, or at least negligible.
 
Sue Pertwee-Tyr said:
A side issue so I don't want to distract unnecessarily, but AIUI insurance quotes, especially motor insurance, are largely automated these days anyway. Unless you contact each insurer directly and request a quote manually, from a real person, rather than doing it online via the 'quote me' section of their website, I think the costs of providing a quote are likely close to nil, or at least negligible.
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Agreed - can’t see the insurers admitting to that though, the main thing they insure is their profit :(
 
Bart said:
Agreed - can’t see the insurers admitting to that though, the main thing they insure is their profit :(
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They often don't even do that!

Big part of the phone selling is to get all the spiel out, an important part of the verbal contract which is often recorded, if they didn't do that you could be ok.
 
My car insurance (LV) is due for renewal and they came back with last year’s very good price with a modest uplift of about £25. Yesterday Comparethemeerkat emailed telling me they had a fabulous lowest price in the market quote for me - way above LV. S much for the compare the (rigged) market process. I found LV are an excellent company to deal with and I additionally took out home insurance with them-much more straight forward than John Lewis and good cover for a better price.
 
TheDecameron said:
My car insurance (LV) is due for renewal and they came back with last year’s very good price with a modest uplift of about £25. Yesterday Comparethemeerkat emailed telling me they had a fabulous lowest price in the market quote for me - way above LV. S much for the compare the (rigged) market process. I found LV are an excellent company to deal with and I additionally took out home insurance with them-much more straight forward than John Lewis and good cover for a better price.
Click to expand...

Agreed.

18 months ago, my father drove his car into the rear of his garage… via the garage door. It was during a lockdown, and my mum didn’t tell me about it for weeks. It turned out my father was suffering with Alzheimer’s/vascular dementia.
Anyway, about two months after the incident, my mum told me what had happened. I’m 130 miles from my parents…
I contacted LV, explained what had happened, fearing the worst from them. But no. An hour later the car was collected, and a week later it was returned, bodywork repaired. And the best bit? No paperwork to sign. It was a slick, easy, pleasant process. No attempt to shortchange us or to make it difficult.

Highly recommended.
 
TheDecameron said:
My car insurance (LV) is due for renewal and they came back with last year’s very good price with a modest uplift of about £25. Yesterday Comparethemeerkat emailed telling me they had a fabulous lowest price in the market quote for me - way above LV. S much for the compare the (rigged) market process. I found LV are an excellent company to deal with and I additionally took out home insurance with them-much more straight forward than John Lewis and good cover for a better price.
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Moneysupermarket sometimes works OK, the Mrs’s Jeep renewal with RAC was near i£240, MS put us to Churchill with half the XS for £190.

Couple Vans were due but Admiral surprisingly dropped their price by 25% so i stayed put.

Never understood the insurance industry.
 
If memory serves me correct the Legal protection and riding gear cover content this year was more than my actual bike insurance! So I guess the “add ons” are where the profit is these days!

Over the last few years they’ve quoted an increase of around £60 but then matched it to the previous years figure when I called them.
 
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