Cancel Insurance or let it run out ?
Discussion
A friend of mine got hit by an uninsured driver some years back, apparently the guy had recently bought the car and the previous owner hadn't cancelled the insurance so there was talk of the previous owners insurance having to pay. Dunno what happened in the end but it was enough to make me want to cancel an insurance police when selling a car.
There is two months left to run, i already paid for it {Annual Payment} - the company will cancel but for a fee, so thinking i will let it run out. Not on auto renewal either. New owners will insure it {family members so trust them} .... Think i shall let it run out - just wanted to know it was not illegal really.
PorkInsider said:
Always cancel.
If for any reason there's a 3rd party claim and the new owner's insurance doesn't cover it, yours might, and you really don't want that.
Not a chance of this. The OPs insurer would never pay out for a claim on a car he does not own and was not in any way responsible for.If for any reason there's a 3rd party claim and the new owner's insurance doesn't cover it, yours might, and you really don't want that.
barbs0007 said:
hi, i have sold my car and was about to cancel the insurance, but they want £50 to cancel !! I only have two months to run, can I let it run out {saving £50 as no refund will be given} ? New owners have bought their own insurance, so mine will run dorment. Many Thanks Barbs 
I think you may have misunderstood what the "£50 charge" is. You will get the remainder of the policy back, minus a £50 fee.For example lets say you paid £600 for your policy and you have 2 months left, i.e. 1/6th of the policy duration left. You will get 1/6th of the premium refunded to you, minus £50. So that is £100 minus £50, so you receive £50 refund.
Cancel it for sure.
PorkInsider said:
Bryson doesnt sound like much of a loss to society based on that.I would say its a miniscule risk of it coming back on you but potentially a world of pain if it does.
Most folk will just insure the vehicle and if they crash it, deal with it between their insurers and whatever it hits.
The "Permission" angle is a sneaky one, as effectively you are giving them permission to ride it, but in exchange for money, if you dropped the cash on the way to the bank would his house insurance still cover it ?
Its typical that in every move with cars you get hustled for a few quid extra, its galling to get charged £50 for something you have finished with, we sold a car last year and it only had a couple of weeks to run and I didnt cancel it, always get dicked on the VE, even though they could do it to the minute it changes hands, lost a full month on my 350Z as bought it and taxed it on the 29th of the month.
treeroy said:
barbs0007 said:
hi, i have sold my car and was about to cancel the insurance, but they want £50 to cancel !! I only have two months to run, can I let it run out {saving £50 as no refund will be given} ? New owners have bought their own insurance, so mine will run dorment. Many Thanks Barbs
I think you may have misunderstood what the "£50 charge" is. You will get the remainder of the policy back, minus a £50 fee.For example lets say you paid £600 for your policy and you have 2 months left, i.e. 1/6th of the policy duration left. You will get 1/6th of the premium refunded to you, minus £50. So that is £100 minus £50, so you receive £50 refund.
Cancel it for sure.
It will be in the T&Cs of the policy.
https://www.whitedalton.co.uk/motorbike-blog/2013/...
It's bike related, but it's very illuminating and applies here I think.
It's bike related, but it's very illuminating and applies here I think.
I sold a car at auction a couple of years ago, a couple of months later I got a call from the police asking if I was the owner of said vehicle as I showed up as the last person to insure it.
Turns out it was not insured by the new owner and they crashed. Policeman asked if I had cancelled insurance and if I had proof of sale.
Luckily I had both so the conversation didn't go any further but got the feeling this was Edgar he was after.
Turns out it was not insured by the new owner and they crashed. Policeman asked if I had cancelled insurance and if I had proof of sale.
Luckily I had both so the conversation didn't go any further but got the feeling this was Edgar he was after.
RSTurboPaul said:
I wish it worked that way but it's not the way it works in my experience - usually by month eight the refunds they will give are down to about 20% or less, meaning one gets basically nothing back by month 10,
It will be in the T&Cs of the policy.
This.It will be in the T&Cs of the policy.
I renewed my old track Puma's insurance through a well known insurance broker that quotes through the comparison sites. When I sold the car 3 months later and cancelled the policy, I got no refund at all. I was pointed to the terms and conditions (which of course I hadn't read) which clearly had me banged to rights.
In fairness, it was a cheap policy (less than £200 IIRC), but what did leave a sour taste was that after the refund formula, cancellation charge, and admin fee had been applied to the premium I'd paid, the refund due was a whopping £9.50, but another little gem buried in the terms and conditions informed me that refunds would not be payable if the amount due was under £10.
This is what you get when you buy a policy purely on price, but in this case on a car that owed me about £350, whose only road mileage was to and from track days, and the odd run to the tip, I wasn't ever going to do anything else.
OP, you must tell your insurer that you've sold the vehicle. It will be a policy requirement that you do so.
If you don't inform your insurer, and if the new owner doesn't insure the vehicle and has an accident, your insurer will have to pay any third party damages as your insurer will be the one that comes up on the MID. Your insurer doesn't get a choice in the matter - if they are the insurer on the database, then they are the insurer that has to settle to the Third Party. This isn't an unusual occurrence.
If this happens, your insurer will be pissed and will come after you for costs because you breached the policy terms.
With regard to the £50 cost, say something along the lines of '...that's not treating customers fairly and if you don't waive the fee, I'm going to complain'. Might work.
If you don't inform your insurer, and if the new owner doesn't insure the vehicle and has an accident, your insurer will have to pay any third party damages as your insurer will be the one that comes up on the MID. Your insurer doesn't get a choice in the matter - if they are the insurer on the database, then they are the insurer that has to settle to the Third Party. This isn't an unusual occurrence.
If this happens, your insurer will be pissed and will come after you for costs because you breached the policy terms.
With regard to the £50 cost, say something along the lines of '...that's not treating customers fairly and if you don't waive the fee, I'm going to complain'. Might work.
andyxxx said:
Not a chance of this. The OPs insurer would never pay out for a claim on a car he does not own and was not in any way responsible for.
Don’t talk such drivel without knowing anything about it. OP, you need to cancel as your insurer could still be liable if they are the only ones covering it and by extension you on your policy. I.e. possibly goodbye no claims.
You do say they have a policy but is it worth the risk? No.
Edited by matt2911 on Thursday 27th February 20:59
WizzBang said:
OP, you must tell your insurer that you've sold the vehicle. It will be a policy requirement that you do so.
Write them a letter telling them you are selling the car (without a specific transaction date, nor details of which car). Don’t quote the policy number. Send it to a random departmental address of theirs. It will take weeks for them to write back, if they ever do (ignore any phone calls). Don’t reply. You might even forget the stamp.Keep a copy of the letter.
You will have complied with their request.
syl said:
Write them a letter telling them you are selling the car (without a specific transaction date, nor details of which car). Don’t quote the policy number. Send it to a random departmental address of theirs. It will take weeks for them to write back, if they ever do (ignore any phone calls). Don’t reply. You might even forget the stamp.
Keep a copy of the letter.
You will have complied with their request.
PistonHeads has a bigger proportion of idiots than the general population I hope....Keep a copy of the letter.
You will have complied with their request.
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