Can they do this to me?

[rtha6551]

I rang my insurance today to see if they could 'freeze' my cover as my car is broken and I can't afford to repair it or get a new car at the moment

They said they can't freeze it, and I have now got 2 weeks to either fix or replace or they will send me a cancellation notice and terminate my policy

However because I had a fault claim against me, they will also be asking for the remainder of my premium which is about £1300!

I think that is totally unreasonable and don't see why they can't just freeze my cover :S if they're the ones cancelling my policy surely they can suck it up, if I was wanting to cancel then fair enough I would expect to have to pay the remainder

Can I just flat out refuse to pay?

Thanhs

[1616six]

Unfortunately a lot of companies can't suspend insurnace cover as now by law you have to have a vehicle insured unless it's SORN'ed off the road.

For the sake of a month or two, you're better off leaving it insured.

I can certainly see your view on it & I agree with you, but unfortunately the law has tied insurance companies hands with it as in theory if you suspend your policy, you would then have to SORN the car and send the tax back.

Cheers,

Jordan

[C.A.R.]

Standard proceedure to request all of the policy balance from you regardless of cancellation I'm afraid, I know from (expensive) previous experience!

Best bet is to just leave the broken car insured, sat on your driveway or wherever it may be. Even if you manage to get a cheap runaround for a few hundred quid the insurance costs will not go down, only ever will they go up on the existing policy. I bought a VW Polo banger after my GTi6 crash, and was still paying direct debit amounts for a GTi6-priced policy! It's the way of the world unfortunately.

[Poodle]

Don't think you two have read the op properly, he's said the insuramce company have given him two weeks to fix the car or they will cancel it and demand the remainder of the premium. Sounds fairly illegal to me, but you never know with insurance companies.

[rocker8742]

Tell em you fixed it so they don't cancel and just leave it on the drive?

[Curt]

Yeah, a above. I don't see how they can make the decision to cancel it, just because you made an inquiry?

That definitely doesn't sound right... Who are you with? I'd get them back on the phone if I were you...

[Midnightclub]

Surely the easiest thing to do.. "Hello, yeah I've fixed the car now. Never mind" *click* ?

[Curt]

But... it's none of their business whether it's broken or not? I'm sure there are plenty of broken and insured cars out there. I would be wanting to know why they think that is acceptable, rather than just lying. Oh, and change companies ASAP!

[C.A.R.]

Isn't it illegal to keep an unroadworthy / crashed car on the public highway / where public have access? I'm sure I was told this when the tow truck man took my totalled GTi6 back to my house, something about facing it away from the road in case it gets spotted? Obviously no issue if you have a driveway.

As above though, I would just advise the insurance company that the car is being repaired / has been repaired, regardless of its' "actual" state.

[Daniel306]

A crashed car has got sharp edges so yu could be sued if someone hurts them selfs but if its a snaped belt or whatever who is going to know and what makes it unroadworthy?

[rtha6551]

thanks for the replies all, there's that many I can't reply to each individually as I'd like to lol :p

Basically I'm with the co-op young drivers policy and I have a box in, so they can see when the car is/isn't being driven :/

The advisor I spoke to on the phone was f*cking useless and didnt seem to know what she was on about half of the time.

I seem to be in a catch 22 situation; if I cancel on my own accord then they reserve the right to ask for the remainder of the premium. But that is also the case if they cancel it if I can't sort it in 2 weeks :S

Also they would want £105 EXTRA for a new box/admin fee if I had a corsa c 1.3 cdti, no drop in premium! A smaller engine and safer design, makes no sense

[Toms306]

Are you not going to fix the car at all?

In your situation I'd just get another shit car to use, but the box seems the problem there really, admin fee should only be about £15 or so.

As for the corsa, its the same power I think, so has a higher power to weight ratio, plus its seen as a young persons car which bumps the insurance up. Look for an old mans car and it should be cheaper.

[burnmw]

Sounds like a load of bollocks to me! Just tell'em it's fixed and leave it that, what are they going to do, call you a liar?

When you can, change insurers!

[rtha6551]

Are you not going to fix the car at all?

In your situation I'd just get another shit car to use, but the box seems the problem there really, admin fee should only be about £15 or so.

As for the corsa, its the same power I think, so has a higher power to weight ratio, plus its seen as a young persons car which bumps the insurance up. Look for an old mans car and it should be cheaper.

Can't really afford it at the moment! had a lot of things to pay for and the bus to work is £20 a week, only a touch more than fuel :/

Yeah the box is £90 and the admin is £15, they won't just move the box between my 306 and a new car as they're 'tailored to each car' (wank excuse to rinse my wallet)

Any recommendations on a car (needs to have ECU for box - hence why I can't have an XUD) that is a diesel, cheap and not too big? :/

Thanks

[puglove]

just tell them its fixed but the cost of that has now left you out of poket so now cant aford the fuel to drive it if they question you.

but in reply to one of the above comments i have swaped insurence from gti to XUD and got a huge discount on the current preimium . so it only gets more expensive isnt true

[Piggy]

admin fees do my fricking head in.

I mean, I pay a huge premium anyway, which pays for the admin dept Im sure...why suck out another £35 everytime I change address or change details. rrrr

[Toms306]

Are you not going to fix the car at all?

In your situation I'd just get another shit car to use, but the box seems the problem there really, admin fee should only be about £15 or so.

As for the corsa, its the same power I think, so has a higher power to weight ratio, plus its seen as a young persons car which bumps the insurance up. Look for an old mans car and it should be cheaper.

Can't really afford it at the moment! had a lot of things to pay for and the bus to work is £20 a week, only a touch more than fuel :/

Yeah the box is £90 and the admin is £15, they won't just move the box between my 306 and a new car as they're 'tailored to each car' (wank excuse to rinse my wallet)

Any recommendations on a car (needs to have ECU for box - hence why I can't have an XUD) that is a diesel, cheap and not too big? :/

Thanks

Ah ok, fair enough then. I didn't realise the boxes had to be on an ECU engine, thought they just used motion sensors and stuff but obviously not. That's really gonna limit your car search tbh.

However I have a nice Vectra CDTi here... Comes with pipe and slippers so cheap to insure.

---

but in reply to one of the above comments i have swaped insurence from gti to XUD and got a huge discount on the current preimium . so it only gets more expensive isnt true

Agreed! I've also had a refund from the insurers when swapping cars, more than once.

[Dum-Dum]

thanks for the replies all, there's that many I can't reply to each individually as I'd like to lol :p

Basically I'm with the co-op young drivers policy and I have a box in, so they can see when the car is/isn't being driven :/

The advisor I spoke to on the phone was f*cking useless and didnt seem to know what she was on about half of the time.

I seem to be in a catch 22 situation; if I cancel on my own accord then they reserve the right to ask for the remainder of the premium. But that is also the case if they cancel it if I can't sort it in 2 weeks :S

Also they would want £105 EXTRA for a new box/admin fee if I had a corsa c 1.3 cdti, no drop in premium! A smaller engine and safer design, makes no sense

Sounds like they are giving you bullshit TBH, Id threaten them with calling the insurance ombudsman or actually just call the insurance ombudsman.

The premium was due at the start of the policy and your monthly payment plan is kinda separate from that so if they want the rest of the money they kinda can but you need to double check the paperwork that came with the agreement to see if they can do that.

If you don't want to cancel your policy then tell them not to cancel it and they cant. Just because you own a car doesn't mean you have to drive it, mine regularly goes weeks without being driven. You can insure a car and not drive it at all but you cant insure a car you don't own.

[Jonny b]

I would check small print of your policy! Iam pretty sure if you have a fault claim going through they can ask for full amount at anytime

[silverzx]

I never knew you could "freeze" insurance. All the time my cars get broken I just man up and let it continue!?

[Jonny b]

You used to be able to but don't think so anymore, my bro in law owns a brokers, I'll ask, that went out of the window with the drive any other car without ιt being insured!

[HDIkyle]

I had a car insures for 3 months after it was scrapped they don't need to know. Just means I can't be in a crash. I'd also f*ck that box off on renewal. But having said that I have considered having one fitted that I can look up online. See how high the readings I can get

[Mattcheese31]

100% tell them it's fixed, it's up to you whether you drive it or not . . . fcuk 'em the stupid aresholes . . .

[r3k1355]

Yep tell them it's fixed and leave it where it is.

If they ask why it doesn't move tell them you've started cycling, or broken your leg, or just tell them it's none of their f*cking business when and where you drive your car.

[THE_Liam]

admin fees do my fricking head in.

I mean, I pay a huge premium anyway, which pays for the admin dept Im sure...why suck out another £35 everytime I change address or change details. rrrr

Brentacre mate, they never seem to charge me admin fees for anything

[Jonny b]

I recon they shat ιt, when you asked for a suspension!! You have a fault claim going through ɑnd still owe em 1300 think they thought you was going to try bumping the rest of the payments! Ɑnd as you have a claim going through they just want the money

f*ck the box off as soon as you can! Just tell em ιts fixed as said, they can't make you drive the car

[welshpete]

I recon they shat ιt, when you asked for a suspension!! You have a fault claim going through ɑnd still owe em 1300 think they thought you was going to try bumping the rest of the payments! Ɑnd as you have a claim going through they just want the money

f*ck the box off as soon as you can! Just tell em ιts fixed as said, they can't make you drive the car

They can legally ask for the balance, it WILL be in the small print somewhere. As for the boxes, GET RID soon as you can. All they do is feed info back to the insurer about your driving styles, the times you use the car etc. They OFTEN push up the costs rather than decrease them. Also, since April of last year, even if your car is sorned and kept off road, you now NEED to have it insured!

[Curt]

That's not true, you can keep a car off the road with no insurance. You can't have a car taxed and uninsured...

[Mattcheese31]

I recon they shat ιt, when you asked for a suspension!! You have a fault claim going through ɑnd still owe em 1300 think they thought you was going to try bumping the rest of the payments! Ɑnd as you have a claim going through they just want the money

f*ck the box off as soon as you can! Just tell em ιts fixed as said, they can't make you drive the car

They can legally ask for the balance, it WILL be in the small print somewhere. As for the boxes, GET RID soon as you can. All they do is feed info back to the insurer about your driving styles, the times you use the car etc. They OFTEN push up the costs rather than decrease them. Also, since April of last year, even if your car is sorned and kept off road, you now NEED to have it insured!

narr you're wrong about that mate . .

[Jonny b]

Yep that last part is wrong bud! If ιts not insured, then ιt has to be sorned! Don't have to be insured on a driveway! As long as ιts sorned