Got A Quote - Paid for car insurance in full - Got Cancellation Notice Saying Seek Alternative Insurance Cover?

[Sarah39]

Hi everyone. Its my 1st post, apologies if i've done anything wrong on here. But i've been really worried and can't sleep tonight.

 

i Wonder if anyone can help with this:

 

I've been driving for 20 Years. I've never seen anything like this before.

 

Paid the full years car Insurance online

Got insurance Certificate, thought i was insured, got a 7 day cancellation letter, no phone calls notifying cancellation or asking for further information, think they are saying it's due to a failed credit check (their letter is below)

 

I now need to get cover with another insurer.

 

Do i now have to declare to the new insurer that i've had car insurance cancelled, or can i just go with one of the other quotes i got the same day i got this one?

 

Do i get all my money back, i need it back first to pay for one of the higher quotes to get insured again.

 

 

Full Details of what happened:

 

Car insurance was up for renewal.

 

Got quotes on several comparison sites.

 

Chose one quote, rang the company, gave them reference, confirmed level of cover, excesses etc. Decided to accept cover, agent said best doing it online, or else i'll have to enter all your details and run it through again.

 

Went online, clicked through the comparison site link for that companies quote.

Paid the full years premium at once.

 

1st Email Received

Thank you for confirming your intention to insure, We are currently processing your payment details, as you will already be aware to protect us against fraud we will be running a series of integrity checks on the information you have provided.

 

If there are any issues with your payment, cover or results of our data integrity checks we will inform you of this by email or, if necessary, we will call you on the telephone number you have provided to us.

 

Please note that your insurance cover is not binding until you receive a certificate of insurance from us.

 

Got to email Proof of no claims, and copy of driving license within 14 days.

I contacted my previous insurer again for copy proof of no claims

 

Further Emails Received a few hours later:

Certificate of insurance, Statement of Fact, Demands and needs, proposal information, Claims and break down contact numbers.. Basically everything you usually get when you get car insurance and you know you are covered.

 

Knowing i was covered, and had time off, i went on a long motoring trip for a week to visit a relative, knowing i'll email my driving license and proof of no claims together when i get back.

 

Got back tonight, was just looking through my emails on my PC when i noticed one from my new insurance company, Sent 2 days after taking out cover.

 

"Please find attached an important letter with regard to insurance cover you have requested on your vehicle. This letter has also been posted to yourself at the given address and no further reminders will be issued.

 

We recommend that you seek alternate insurance cover.

 

Please note: Under the Road Traffic Act it is an offence to leave, drive or otherwise use a motor vehicle on the Public Highway without Third Party Insurance. Failure to return the certificate of insurance is also an offence under the Road Traffic Act."

 

The Attached Letter

 

URGENT 7 DAY CANCELLATION NOTICE

 

We write to you in respect of your motor insurance policy for vehicle registration -------. We are authorised by your Insurance Company (see certificate of motor insurance for details) to act as their agents for the purpose of CANCELLING insurance cover in accordance with policy conditions and herewith give you notice that all cover is cancelled from -- December 2014.

 

In accordance with our terms of business which were agreed to when purchasing this policy and that state:

 

“We may, before and after entering into this agreement search the files of any credit reference agency or agencies who will keep a record of our enquiries. We may also disclose details about you and your conduct of this agreement to that agency or agencies. Such details are then used only to help make credit decisions on you or members of your household or occasionally for fraud prevention or to trace debtors. Where credit scoring calculations are used by us/the insurer, acceptance or rejection of your application will depend only on the results of the credit scoring process.”

 

We regret to inform you that after such a credit scoring calculation was done, the result of which was unacceptable and due to this we are unable to provide any insurance cover for your vehicle. A full refund will be issued to you upon cancellation and once receiving a certificate surrender declaration unless there has been any claims during the period of cover. No further reminder letters will be sent about this matter. Cover will simply be cancelled.

 

There will therefore be no cover in force after the above date and you must return your certificate of Insurance or temporary cover-note, if you received this by post you must return the original, where it was received via email you must email a Certificate Surrender Statement to cancellations Department. You are advised to obtain cover.

 

Please note: Under the Road Traffic Act it is an offence to leave, drive or otherwise use a motor vehicle on the Public Highway without Third Party Insurance. Failure to return the certificate of insurance is also an offence under the Road Traffic Act.

A Person may be prosecuted if a cancelled certificate of Motor Insurance or temporary cover note is produced to any person with the intention of deceiving that person into accepting it as genuine.

 

******************* WARNING ********************

 

After the termination of your insurance the Motor Insurance Database (MID) will show that no insurance cover is in force. This information is registered on the Police National Computer confirming no insurance cover is in force until replacement cover is issued

[rebel11]

Hi Sarah39

 

Welcome to CAG

 

The guys will advise as soon as they are available.

 

The letter does say that you will get a full refund.

[colin11]

Which company are we talking about ?

[unclebulgaria67]

Sounds very odd. It could be that the details you entered do not match what is shown on your credit record. It could be that the address is slightly different or the date of birth was wrongly entered. Then the computer says NO and they issue a cancellation notice.

 

You need to contact the Insurance company involved to see if you can find out any more information. You should not have a problem arranging cover elsewhere, but you really need to find out what the issue is first, otherwise you could go through the same problem.

 

When you talk to them, if they cannot continue the policy, ask them when you will get your refund back and ask them for a breakdown of the amount. You will get charged time on risk, plus a cancellation admin fee.

 

Then the advice is to speak to an Insurance brokers locally to get the cover arranged. Explain what has happened and they should be able to arrange a policy.

[rebel11]

According to their letter, they will issue a full refund.

 

'A full refund will be issued to you upon cancellation and once receiving a certificate surrender declaration unless there has been any claims during the period of cover. No further reminder letters will be sent about this matter. Cover will simply be cancelled'

[unclebulgaria67]

According to their letter, they will issue a full refund.

 

'A full refund will be issued to you upon cancellation and once receiving a certificate surrender declaration unless there has been any claims during the period of cover. No further reminder letters will be sent about this matter. Cover will simply be cancelled'

 

Not sure what to make of this. It could be some online brokers who did not arrange cover straightaway, but simply took details. They then tried to arrange cover, they had a problem and then issued a cancellation letter.

 

Does not sound like an FCA compliant process. Either you are Insured or you are not. If they have provided some cover, then they would charge for it, unless their underwriters provide free Insurance for a short period.

[Ethel Street]

It's a bit odd. Why did they do a credit check if you paid the premium in full? If you pay by installements it's usually subject to credit check (because the installment plan is effectively a credit agreement) but if you pay in full in advance what's the purpose of a credit check?

[unclebulgaria67]

It's a bit odd. Why did they do a credit check if you paid the premium in full? If you pay by installements it's usually subject to credit check (because the installment plan is effectively a credit agreement) but if you pay in full in advance what's the purpose of a credit check?

 

The credit record check is done also for identification purposes. That the person buying the Insurance is at the address quoted, the date of birth matches. Also some Insurers do use the credit check as part of their underwriting. If you have a bad record with CCJ's and defaults, they might not Insure you. This is a change within the last few years, with Insurers seeming to believe that those with a poor credit record are a higher risk.