Lapsed insurance -
Discussion
Due to a minor lapse of organization, my insurance renewal quote ended up being ignored for a couple of months. I only realised when a warning letter from MID dropped on the mat this morning.
Obviously this has been "fixed" pronto, but will the brief gap in my insurance without SORN being declared cause any problem?
I know I can't easily blame anyone other than myself - but I'm be surprised that my insurer didn't follow up the quote with any reminders of any kind. I'd normally expect a slew of 'we're sorry to see you go' letters, or at least something confirming that the insurance had been cancelled.
Obviously this has been "fixed" pronto, but will the brief gap in my insurance without SORN being declared cause any problem?
I know I can't easily blame anyone other than myself - but I'm be surprised that my insurer didn't follow up the quote with any reminders of any kind. I'd normally expect a slew of 'we're sorry to see you go' letters, or at least something confirming that the insurance had been cancelled.
As far as I know the continuous insurance fines are only applied after a warning, so I'd say that is unlikely.
I haven't heard about the MID warning before though, what was the wording and what was their basis for sending the letter? It's a good thing really though, the wasn't a minor lapse of organisation, if you had been stopped by the police it would cost an absolute fortune in fines and subsequent insurance premium increases.
I haven't heard about the MID warning before though, what was the wording and what was their basis for sending the letter? It's a good thing really though, the wasn't a minor lapse of organisation, if you had been stopped by the police it would cost an absolute fortune in fines and subsequent insurance premium increases.
SV8Predator said:
silentbrown said:
I'd normally expect a slew of 'we're sorry to see you go' letters, or at least something confirming that the insurance had been cancelled.
You're right to blame the insurance company for not following this up. You did nothing wrong.
Every renewal date they arrive offering to provide cover by simply calling to confirm.
There are always those on here that are surprised that others manage to miss the renewal date, but the reality is that there are a huge number of people who procrastinate, or realise that they need to call the insurance time but at a time when they are closed, the don't remember when they are open. It is remarkably easy to do.
Its also not helped by the fact some firms auto-renew when others don't. I know when my insurance last came up for renewal I only got the renewal notice and no reminder, but then it autorenewed anyway. Had decided I couldnt be arsed to search for quotes though.
Its also not helped by the fact some firms auto-renew when others don't. I know when my insurance last came up for renewal I only got the renewal notice and no reminder, but then it autorenewed anyway. Had decided I couldnt be arsed to search for quotes though.
Chrisgr31 said:
There are always those on here that are surprised that others manage to miss the renewal date, but the reality is that there are a huge number of people who procrastinate, or realise that they need to call the insurance time but at a time when they are closed, the don't remember when they are open. It is remarkably easy to do.
It can't be that easy to do, as neither my wife or I have managed it in 35 yrs each of driving. TwigtheWonderkid said:
It can't be that easy to do, as neither my wife or I have managed it in 35 yrs each of driving.
I suppose you have never suffered a stroke in 35 years of driving... while I did.I have had ONE in 39 years of driving - which has affected my memory recall.
"I" have never forgotten to insure because my wife looks after it and reminds me, but if it were up to me... who knows. We did once insure the car twice due to an error by the insco, and taxed one car 6 months too soon!
Just goes to show we are ALL different, and YOUR experience could be completely different to others.
TwigtheWonderkid said:
It can't be that easy to do, as neither my wife or I have managed it in 35 yrs each of driving.
Well, I've been driving longer than you, so maybe that explains it. 
Someone asked what the letter wording was. Bowdlerised version attached:
I hope that the wording means I may have lucked out. (unless I've been recently nabbed by an ANPR camera, of course...)
Lapsed insurance is easy enough to happen, a mistake or miss hearing of either the customer by Bob in India or vice versa meaning one party or the other is waiting on some action to cause the renewal to happen. This happened to my wife, and I've had an insurance company try and bill an expired card despite confirming they had got a current card to charge.
KungFuPanda said:
Probably because you've put the start date as asap??
The time to get the best prices is when you want the policy to start in around 3/4 weeks time.
This is the case but why would the algorithms favour that? Obviously has no bearing on risk.The time to get the best prices is when you want the policy to start in around 3/4 weeks time.
Did it for next week and saved 120 quid. That is crazy. I had to check my triple check my details in case I'd accidentally told them I was a 60 year old woman in a 1 litre Micra.
Edited by R Mutt on Wednesday 6th May 20:18
R Mutt said:
KungFuPanda said:
Probably because you've put the start date as asap??
The time to get the best prices is when you want the policy to start in around 3/4 weeks time.
This is the case but why would the algorithms favour that? Obviously has no bearing on risk.The time to get the best prices is when you want the policy to start in around 3/4 weeks time.
Did it for next week and saved 120 quid. That is crazy. I had to check my triple check my details in case I'd accidentally told them I was a 60 year old woman in a 1 litre Micra.
Edited by R Mutt on Wednesday 6th May 20:18
Maybe get a taxi to collect your shopping and go for the cheaper option to start in a week or so time.
KungFuPanda said:
Supply and demand isn’t it. If you’ve got a few weeks to play with, you can afford to pick and choose who you go with. If you ask for the policy to start immediately, they make an educated guess that your policy has lapsed and charge you more because they know you need it.
Maybe get a taxi to collect your shopping and go for the cheaper option to start in a week or so time.
The demand is pretty low. It's just me.Maybe get a taxi to collect your shopping and go for the cheaper option to start in a week or so time.
There shouldn't be anything in the algorithm that says 'desperate mug'. And repeatedly we're reassured the price is purely based on your risk profile, just as the guy in their call centre did today - "There must have been a change of underwriters assessment of your postcode" he actually said.
When someone hits you, you're then 'higher risk', even though a previous insurer explained a premium rise after a non fault accident as an 'admin fee'.
When I heard about it (mentioned by Martin Lewis I think), I was sceptical because some of his advice doesn't come to fruition (or is obvious).
I ran a quote in January requesting insurance for various commencement dates from 2 days to 4 weeks out. I could do this because the car was off the road and I had my full NCD available to apply. For me, 7 days ahead was £20 cheaper and 4 weeks ahead was £40 cheaper. Not a lot, but for relevance it was 10% and 20% more expensive to insure 7 days and next day respectively than with 4 weeks notice!
Get some online quotes as soon as you get a renewal notice. In my experience, if you leave it until closer the price does go up.
I ran a quote in January requesting insurance for various commencement dates from 2 days to 4 weeks out. I could do this because the car was off the road and I had my full NCD available to apply. For me, 7 days ahead was £20 cheaper and 4 weeks ahead was £40 cheaper. Not a lot, but for relevance it was 10% and 20% more expensive to insure 7 days and next day respectively than with 4 weeks notice!
Get some online quotes as soon as you get a renewal notice. In my experience, if you leave it until closer the price does go up.
R Mutt said:
There shouldn't be anything in the algorithm that says 'desperate mug'. And repeatedly we're reassured the price is purely based on your risk profile,
Maybe within the group of people that leave buying their insurance until the last minute is a higher percentage of disorganised procrastinators. Not only do they leave buying their insurance until the last minute, they leave home for an appointment at the last minute, and have to rush because they are often late, they delay servicing and tyre changes, their direct debit is more likely to go down because they never got round to transfering the funds, etc.etc. Gassing Station | Speed, Plod & the Law | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff