Hi guys

Just after a bit of advice really, my insurance is due for renewal at the end of this month, my insurers rang to remind me, offered me a real good quote which I am happy with.......the only thing that is causing an issue is that I may be going to work abroad for 6 months at the end of November/beginning of December....I explained this to the guy on the phone who then explained that if I was to re-new my insurance then I have to pay a deposit of £118 this month ( ?! ) to roll it over and if I was to cancel my policy in November or December I am required to pay 60% of my total premium as a cancellation fee?! Is this normal practise as Ive never had to pay a cancellation fee before when I've changed insurers mid policy, just had to pay a admin fee which is fine.

I then explained if that was the case then I will not be re-newing my insurance with them as I cannot understand why I have to pay all that money for effectively only 5-6 months cover....fair point I think.........the bloke then phones back and says Ive had a chat with the manager and he said he'll wave the cancellation charge if you decide to cancel in November/December and the only fee they will charge is an admin fee of £35. I then asked why they changed their minds and the guy said "sorry I thought you were going to pay the whole balance off this month" to which then I got totally confused because why would I be then paying a cancellation charge in December if I had paid my whole premium now!?

Something seems slightly suss to me tbh, I just dont want the hassle of changing companies, neither do I want to be stung for a massive charge when I'm hopefully about to leave the country.....

Help! LOL

Kerry

Hi Kerry...

As silly as this sounds, I think the person you spoke to at the insurance company basically didn't know wha the was talking about... told you you'd have to pay through the nose, and then when he got off the phone, went to check with his boss and got told that he was talking out of his schvinkter. Rather than admit that he was wrong and look stupid to you down the phone, he's made it out like they are doing you some massive favour, when in reality.... they aren't.

Cancelling a policy mid term in 9/10 cases results in a standard admin charge, as said above of like £30. A full refund pro rata then ensues, providing no claims are made, you return your certificate of insurance, and job done.

I genuinley think he got it wrong and then tried to cover it up by trying to baffle you...which he succeeded with. lol.

I don't think you have any need to worry at all.

 So should I re-new with my current company? I'm just a bit weary now, I guess if I phone back and ask for it all in writing then I cant go wrong.........can I?

 Ring them back up and ask for it all to be sent out in the writing the policy and terms and conditions. Then you can check it in your own time and make sure the policy is covering what you expect it to and the costs are written down.

Dan.

 I have asked for the terms and conditions to be sent out, I have recieved them and reading through it states that different underwriters have different terms and conditions for cancellations.....doesn't state specifically to mine.Since then I phoned and explained I wont be renewing until I have confirmation, they have said that all calls are recorded so there should be no fee expect an admin fee in december.

Dan, does Adrian Flux charge cancellation fees?

Adrian Flux as with more brokers will charge an administration fee. Our terms and conditions also confirm that we retain the commission, for example if a £100 return premium contains £10 commission you would be entitled to the £90 from the insurer.

There is no industry standard in respect of insurer cancellation charges and as a result some will issue proportionate return premiums and other will issue short period charges. Short period charges can be as high as 50% for a cancellation within the first 3 months.

Cheers,

Dan