Which is the greater evil
(edited because i couldn;t spel evil!)
- people like me who are very busy and don't feel they should have to tell insurers in triplicate that they don't want to renew their effing policy getting money taken off them that they then have to get back from the damned insurer. i should have to tell them i want it. if i don;t i shouldn't be obliged to super-double check that it is definitely cancelled and that the person i spoke with isn't a male chicken.

OR

- dozy people becoming uninsured because they're too thick to remember when the policy is ending?

personally because it isn;t a legal requirement - unlike car insurance - i think it's a p1sstake the way they try and do this. and for that matter i think it's odd that they don't do it for car insurance where there's a very real need to be insured.

the olden days were so much better!

Simple just pay the policy in full and not by direct debit and it will auto-lapse instead of auto-renew.

not true! if you pay on any form of card they will debit that card 12 months later - I know as its happened to my mother,my father , my wife and myself and usually thats AFTER they have been told that we would not be renewing with them -
AA, most insurance companies,dating websites they all use it as an excuse to keep you with them..

I'd certainly agree that if they do it without warning then it's not really on, even if they covered themselves in small print the time before. You should always get a letter first giving you time to cancel if you want (but then they know they will lose business). Easier to grab the loot first and brace for a Mr Angry letter.

I work in insurance. If you pay us by card it does NOT auto renew. It will only do so if the company sets up a 'continuous authority' which they should tell you about at the time. If your premiums are paid by DD then we will auto renew, and we do say so in the renewal paperwork.

Because of this, I encourage people to use the DD system. In this way they will be covered after renewal, even if they don't get round to it, or can't be bothered to read the paperwork.

Not all companies charge a lot for DD; and not all companies charge cancellation or admin fees.

If you decide that you do want to insure your house - then why would you want to not be covered if you forget to do something about it?

can you please edit your post and change it to "continuous authority will be included in the microscopic small print, which we wont mention to you"
The AA "auto renewed" even when they were told to destroy all records of the card details after they had received payment and no way did I wish for it to be automatically charged next year - gues what though... thats exactly what they bloodywell did!

Not in my very recent experience taking a contents policy out online with Hiscox. You have no choice but to tick the auto-renew box (and no continuous authority) if you wish to buy the policy - a point I double checked on the phone with them. So if you forget to tell them you don't want to renew, or don't get the renewal letter, you get charged. Sharp practice in my book.

Auto-renew is definitely the best option as at least you are covered. If you dont want to auto-renew then dont sign up with a company that does it, or may a diary note to shop around for quotes in 11 months time.

I'd much prefer to have a high premium under Auto-renew than have a calim and find I had forgotten to renew!

However as mentioned by another poster why is your renewal premium always higher than the same company will offer you when you phone to cancel having got comparable quotes?

Haven't insurance companies heard that its a lot cheaper to keep your existing customers than attract new ones?

Hello hedgefinder, we’d like to address this with you, if you have any outstanding queries, please email chat@theaa.com with Reference FOR17508. Regards, the Official Representative of The AA

I could never be arsed to change from my original supplier, but Britania have been take over by the co-op and have decided they no longer do house insurance, so I should phone the co-op for a quote.

Bugger that. Over to quidco, get a multiple of quotes, check them against direct line, go to aviva, and take out a policy which is £400 a year cheaper than I was paying. Which means I thrown away £8000 quid over the last 20 years ? Bugger.