Beware of this insurer.

[David Edmonds]

I received this morning a letter from Peter S. Taylor inviting me to renew insurance cover for my Rover 75. Last years premium was £127.94, but this year they have increased it to £237.38, a difference of £109.44.

I noticed that despite being insured with them for several years I was not entitled to any No Claims Bonus. On asking why this was so I was told that they do not include this for classic cars. I originally purchased cover from this company after seeing their advert in Practical Classics magazine!

I soon decided to seek cover elsewhere and was then informed there would be a cancellation fee of£50 if I did not renew my policy. I was becoming slightly miffed by this stage, and replied that if they stole £50 from me I would notify the national press and this forum. After supposedly consulting with his manager the chap on the end of the line said I would not have to pay and the account was now closed. Does anyone know if this behaviour is legal? It seems pretty dubious to me.

[xsport]

They can charge what they like .. and the more they charge ,the more the government likes it . more insurance tax ... The whole set up ,the same as road fund tax needs a massive shake up im afraid.

[The Rovering Member]

That's the first time l've heard of a cancellation charge being threatened for letting your insurance expire naturally. I would imagine there is legislation against that kind of chicanery.

[xsport]

If you ring them up to tell them that you are not going to renew .. then they wont ,or should not charge , if you have told them just to let it expire at the due date. Where this gets complicated is if you tell them inadvertently that you wish to cancel , then there is the open door for them !! I always make sure by following up again the next day to make sure that they let the existing policy expire naturally at its due renewal date. They dont take much encouragement to at least try it on. I wonder how many old ladies or similar have coughed up before ?

[MSS]

Originally Posted by David Edmonds

I received this morning a letter from Peter S. Taylor inviting me to renew insurance cover for my Rover 75. Last years premium was £127.94, but this year they have increased it to £237.38, a difference of £109.44.

I noticed that despite being insured with them for several years I was not entitled to any No Claims Bonus. On asking why this was so I was told that they do not include this for classic cars. I originally purchased cover from this company after seeing their advert in Practical Classics magazine!

I soon decided to seek cover elsewhere and was then informed there would be a cancellation fee of£50 if I did not renew my policy. I was becoming slightly miffed by this stage, and replied that if they stole £50 from me I would notify the national press and this forum. After supposedly consulting with his manager the chap on the end of the line said I would not have to pay and the account was now closed. Does anyone know if this behaviour is legal? It seems pretty dubious to me.

An insurer can only charge a substantial cancellation fee (£50 is substantial) once a policy has come into effect and the 14-day cooling-off period has expired. There cannot be a charge for not renewing as a policy will normally be a one-year contract and there is no obligation to renew.

An insurer does not have to give you a no claims bonus or discount of any sort. Also, they can offer you insurance at any price they choose as it is just an offer that you can choose to accept or not.

The chap at the other end was probably just inexperienced and not clear on the difference between not renewing and cancelling a policy.

I would say that accusing someone of stealing is a bit over the top, as are threats of going to the press. A gentler approach is a skill that never fails to work in my experience.

[Devilish]

Auto renewal should be against the law, companies use it as default and tell you it can be turned off at any time. The day I pay I tell them I will cancel unless I have an email saying auto renewal is OFF.

Following an email from RAC this year who SWMBO is insured with, telling her she has two policies on the same vehicle. Her bank account showed a payment from her account to an insurance company, I checked her emails to find a thank you for auto renewing email. she rang them on speaker phone I heard them tell her there would be a cancellation fee because the policy is more than 30 days old. I grabbed the phone and told them she has just renewed her insurance with RAC who she has been insured with for 2 years, and asked how they managed to auto renew a policy that does not exist, she went away and came back only to say they had just refunded the full payment.

[MSS]

Originally Posted by Devilish

Auto renewal should be against the law, companies use it as default and tell you it can be turned off at any time. ......

No it should not - many, including myself find it really useful as a fallback or risk mitigation.

People just need to learn to stay on top of their affairs and not look to blame others at every opportunity.

In my experience it has never been turned on without some sort of interaction or notification.

If you don't wish to use the feature, have it turned off at the time that the policy is taken out, as you apparently do. Those who fail to look at emails telling them that the policy is going to auto renew are equally likely to not look at emails telling them that the policy is about to expire. Do we really want more motorists on the roads without insurance?

[maninthestreet]

In my 24 years experience of owning and insuring classic cars, you don't get NCB for a classic car insurance policy.

[grivas]

Originally Posted by David Edmonds

I received this morning a letter from Peter S. Taylor inviting me to renew insurance cover for my Rover 75. Last years premium was £127.94, but this year they have increased it to £237.38, a difference of £109.44.

I noticed that despite being insured with them for several years I was not entitled to any No Claims Bonus. On asking why this was so I was told that they do not include this for classic cars. I originally purchased cover from this company after seeing their advert in Practical Classics magazine!

I soon decided to seek cover elsewhere and was then informed there would be a cancellation fee of£50 if I did not renew my policy. I was becoming slightly miffed by this stage, and replied that if they stole £50 from me I would notify the national press and this forum. After supposedly consulting with his manager the chap on the end of the line said I would not have to pay and the account was now closed. Does anyone know if this behaviour is legal? It seems pretty dubious to me.

The insurance industry in the UK although regulated by x y and z is not fit for purpose, and continue to rip off the public at every opportunity without a care in the world, so my advice is to shop around and never auto renew a policy, after all each broker is only as good as their attitude towards you as a customer when you need them, there is no loyalty no customer service , just ticking boxes, the rest is just BS. Also NCB is not added automatically unless you choose it in your policy.

[wraymond]

Originally Posted by MSS

No it should not - many, including myself find it really useful as a fallback or risk mitigation.

People just need to learn to stay on top of their affairs and not look to blame others at every opportunity.

In my experience it has never been turned on without some sort of interaction or notification.

If you don't wish to use the feature, have it turned off at the time that the policy is taken out, as you apparently do. Those who fail to look at emails telling them that the policy is going to auto renew are equally likely to not look at emails telling them that the policy is about to expire. Do we really want more motorists on the roads without insurance?

Flippin Eck, I agree with that!

The unwary are fodder. How many of us actually read the policy document? Once we read the first page and the premium, that’s all she wrote. My current policy has 24 pages! It is a new contract -do not assume it's the same as the last one.

Insurers are now obliged to send renewal notices at least two weeks prior to renewal on annual contracts unless there is a specific and limiting clause or term. These cases are a regular cause for concern and are a feature of the ‘browsing’ habits of many of the general public. Unless a perpetuity contract has been established it is a ‘term’ policy with the renewal date on the first page immediately, or thereabouts, above the premium. Sometimes a famous name is well earned....but only sometimes.

My tip: two weeks before renewal, or when you get a reminder, phone or visit a broker and ask for their quote and show your reminder and the policy to which it refers. The desk clerk has been known to go to see his manager in the next room! It could save yet another 50 quid. Unless of course you’re not that bothered.

Some 30 years ago I was a rep for a major insurance company working from home. My Saturday mornings were spent in my garage renewing cover in person for my, as I thought of them, customers. A queue halfway down the path was not unusual.

The insurance industry relies on a degree of inertia, ignorance or just plain laziness to create premium stream. In short, read the contract.