Hi,

Unfortunately my father died a couple of weeks ago. I took a lot of the paperwork from my mum to sort out at this difficult time for her, and one of the things I did was cancel my dad's car insurance policy.

The car insurance was paid monthly and was up to date on the payments.

However my mum has now received a letter asking for £91 to be paid on the car insurance, in outstanding fees and cancellation charge. Given that the policy was £330 a year and had four months left, this seems excessive, particularly given the circumstances.

I know that a lot of policies do have a "cancellation" charge written into them, but from my point of view this isn't a cancellation it is a termination. It is also very much the opposite of choosing to cancel the policy.

This seems heavy handed on the part of the insurance company (RBS Finsure) - particularly that given they are aware of the circumstances they send out a letter asking for immediate payment or further action will be taken, without prior request or mention of any possible additional charges when I originally cancelled the policy.

Is this charge fair? Is there any point arguing? To be honest I do just feel like paying it and forgetting about it, but the tone and timing of the letter annoyed me so much that on the other hand I really don't want to give them any more money right at the moment.

Hi there,

I am very sorry to hear about your loss. It is a shame insurers cannot be more compassionate during difficult times. Unfortunately alot of companies do tend to treat their customers as numbers, rather than individuals, & rather than looking at the individual circumstances of every case, their staff just follow rigid procedures, as they have been trained to do. Happily I work for an insurer that is making great efforts to move away from this mindset, & we seem to be making progress.

As far as a cancellation charge goes, yes unfortunately most insurers do have this written into their policies. And unfortunately again, they don't differentiate on reason why the policy is being cancelled, they don't make a judgement call - to them, a cancellation is a cancellation, regardless of reason...& unfortunately it is processes like this that give the insurance industry a bad name.

I would imagine the cancellation charge itself is somewhere between

£30-£60, & the remainder of that is premiums due up until the end of the year, as insurance is an annual product, paying monthly simply spreads the cost across 12 months, rather than paying on a month by month basis, as alot of people assume they are.

If I were you I would just pay it, they aren't doing anything unlawful but I fully appreciate why this has left a very nasty taste in your mouth. It is easier just to pay, move on & forget it, you've got more important things to think about right now.

Don't pay the cancellation fee. It sounds to me like an employee has made a mistake and forgotten to waive the fee. In most companies I would imagine it is company policy to waive the fee in the case of the death of a customer. I think the best thing you can do is phone them and ask to speak to a supervisor or someone in the customer relations department (if they have one) and explain that the policy was cancelled due to the death of the customer.

Sorry to hear about your loss. Please be aware that cancellation fees are not usually payable in the event of a person's death. Complain to the firm concerned and it is more than likely they will back off and close the file. Good Luck.

likewise this way

but i wasnot charged

contact the co. and explain the situation

there should be no charge on death

dx100uk

What ****, and people on here curse dca's.

I would refuse to pay it and if they get heavy handed tell them to pursue the policy holder.

If any money is owed, it is owed by the deceased's estate, not by the surviving relatives. You have no responsibility for payment at all. I suspect they know this, but waiting for probate can take time. I suspect that many companies still try to get a surviving relative to pay - when an uncle of mine died British Gas and a couple of credit card companies demanded payments quite forcefully until warned off by the executors.

In any case (I daresay some insurance geek will confirm it or not), the policy has been determined by the death of the policyholder, so need not be cancelled - the insurers just need to know that there is no longer a policyholder to cover, to be blunt.

Based upon the assumption that the policy is in your late father's name, I suggest you send them something like:

Further to your letter of xxxx, regarding the insurance policy my late father held with you, I regret that I am unable to assist you with your request for payment.

 

As I am sure you are aware, your contractual relationship was with my father, and if any money is owed it is by his estate. The executors are (xxxxxx), to whom I have passed your demand for payment, and to whom any further correspondence in this matter should be addressed.

 

Yours etc.

Generally speaking, the process for deceased persons should be quite straight forward.

Most insurers will give 30 days cover upon notification of the policy holder passing away. This is so that the car is still covered whilst arrangements are being made (car being sold/passed to family members etc).

Once the 30 days arse up, the policy will be cancelled on a pro rata basis so you'll only pay for the cover you've used.

I agree with LemonTwist, it would appear to be a staff error so just give their customer service team a quick call and explain the situation, hopefully they should sort it all out for you.

Hope This Helps

DA