Hello, i took out a car insurance policy with bell insurance in january this year, in june i was unfortunate enough to have an acident (my fault) i claimed and they paid out no problem, due to having a high excess to pay i was short of cash the following month so my dd payment was returned by the bank, they then tried to take 2 lots the following month and again the payment bounced. I then phoned up last week to make the payment over the phone and they refused to let me catch up with the payments and insisted my policy was cancelled. they refused to re insure me unless i paid the rest of the policy up front. i am not in a position to do that so i said fine and put the phone down. i then re insured with another insurer and thought nothing of it. today i recieved a letter from bell saying my insurance was cancelled and i owe them nearly a thousand pounds for the rest of the years insurance as i had made a claim. i have checked my policy and it does state that if i make a claim then i must pay the balance of the premium in full. this seems a little unfair if they are refusing to let me catch up with missed payments and carry on as normal with the monthly dd payment. i am effectively being forced to pay for 6 months insurance when i'm not insured if that makes sense? can anyone help or guide me in the right direction to resolve the matter. thanks

Hi Mr Man,

when you purchase insurance, you are purchasing an annual policy (normally), and the insurer allow you to pay for it monthly.

When you get your certificate of insurance, you have insurance for 1 year, subject to the t's&c's. If a policy is cancelled then they can pro-rata a refund, however because a claim has been made, ie you have cost them money, they are obviously going to want to receive the full premium.