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Original poster

Any car insurance experts? I've fucked up massively :(

161 replies

G3ntlemanJ · 23/04/2021 11:44

And it's not me that's affected, it's my dd.

She's had her licence for 18m and from the very start I was in charge of her insurance, organising and paying for it. Direct debit set up for monthly payments.

Dd (19) was stopped on the motorway by police two days ago for not having insurance. Apparently the policy ended in January!! It didn't auto renew, which is what I had assumed. Stupid, I know.

After searching my email account I found one email from them saying there was a number to call to renew the policy, but it had gone into my spam and I'd totally missed it. We have otherwise had absolutely no communication from them. No letter to say it was going to be cancelled, no letter confirming it had been cancelled.

Because dd has had her licence for under two years she now faces 6 points on her licence and it being revoked and then taking her test again.

I am absolutely devastated to have done this to her and I feel so, so guilty.

But I can't help thinking that the insurance company are at fault too? Surely we should have had some further communication from them? From what I've read online they have to take 'reasonable steps' to notify the policyholder and this doesn't seem to have been done here, so we were reasonable to think it auto-renewed.

Does anyone have any advice at all??

Massive TIA!

OP posts:
TakeYourFinalPosition · 23/04/2021 12:14

From what I've read online they have to take 'reasonable steps' to notify the policyholder

You had an annual policy with an end date, and they emailed you to give you an option to renew - legally, that's likely to be considered "reasonable".

What have the police advised, are you now waiting to see if she's charged? Did your daughter get asked to take proof of new insurance?

Parky04 · 23/04/2021 12:16

You/your daughter have learnt a valuable lesson. It could have been a lot worse as if your daughter had had a fault accident, you could have been owing thousands of pounds!!

StormcloakNord · 23/04/2021 12:16

It's an unfortunate mistake to make, but it does happen. Nobody is perfect!

Unfortunately I don't think assuming it had been auto-renewed would stand up as an appeal so she'll likely have to take the 6 points.

Very rubbish, very expensive lesson learned!

2bazookas · 23/04/2021 12:16

How could you not know how your insurance policy works?

rosesarered321 · 23/04/2021 12:18

Try to think about it from the other side, your daughter has been incredibly lucky she hasn't had a serious accident and she, or you, will never do it again!

FlyingBurrito · 23/04/2021 12:19

@2bazookas

How could you not know how your insurance policy works?
Hmm, how could someone not understand that another person might make a mistake?

Baffling that your brain can't comprehend that, do you struggle with day to day thinking?

ICouldHaveCheckedFirst · 23/04/2021 12:21

I forgot once, luckily with no consequences. Found out when I called the insurance company to say I'd changed the car registration number. This was 6 months later! I was disgusted with myself. I've never forgotten again.

Life lesson for you both, I'm afraid.

Billben · 23/04/2021 12:21

But I can't help thinking that the insurance company are at fault too?

No, they really are not. This is entirely your and your DD’s fault. Stop trying to pass the blame and take responsibility for forgetting to renew it.

ShesMadeATwatOfMePam · 23/04/2021 12:26

The only person responsible for ensuring they have valid insurance is the driver.

Original poster
G3ntlemanJ · 23/04/2021 12:26

Firstly - I was the one who found the policy but the payments were taken from DP bank account so no, I didn't realise the payments had been stopped and neither did he. It's not the sort of amount that would stand out so he missed it. Again, not an excuse.

We pay for her car insurance because she's a full time Uni student - as I imagine lots of other parents do Hmm Our choice.

Ex DH is a magistrate so I've already sounded him out about it. I just wanted the opinion of someone who knows more about car insurance than I do in case I can use it for mitigating circumstances.

OP posts:
Original poster
G3ntlemanJ · 23/04/2021 12:28

This is a fact finding exercise, not a blame attributing one. I can assure you all that I am very aware of all responsibilities here.

OP posts:
Fuss · 23/04/2021 12:29

DH had his insurance cancelled at 5pm on Easter Sunday. First we knew of it was a text message. Impossible to speak to anyone so had to frantically rearrange insurance that night with someone else. The text suggested they had emailed 5 times, which we knew they had not.
Ultimately they cocked up and admitted it, computer error. In fairness to them they even met the difference between the cancelled policy and the one we had to take out in an emergency (£50 something) so they can cock up. Unfortunately in your case though OP I don't think you will be able to blame them.

Its good to get into the habit of checking Askmid on your vehicle from time to time and to always set reminders for MOT, Tax and Insurance on your phone.

Wegobshite · 23/04/2021 12:31

You could try one of those driving lawyers I think we used Patterson expensive but they got me off a case of failing to respond which is also 6 points and a code MS90
But first get over to Peppio forum for anything driving related -
They are 10 times nastier than MN 😂but the advice you will get will be accurate and
They were very good in advising me on driving stuff last year

Wegobshite · 23/04/2021 12:32

Plus we also got back 50 percent of what we paid to Patterson’s as it was thrown out of court

BananaHammock23 · 23/04/2021 12:36

I sympathise with you OP! I think everyone's being a bit harsh... these things happen. My mum forgot to tax my car and I was stopped by police when I was 18 - it was gutting!

Sadly I don't think you'll get away with anything here. You should have got a letter but it's not a good enough reason to get off the fine/points.

TheQueef · 23/04/2021 12:36

No insurance is endorsable so you could run a couple of quotes to get an idea of the increase DD will have.
I'd see how much extra it will be and then decide if paid legal help is worth it.

Ilikewinter · 23/04/2021 12:41

Unfortunately this will be a costly mistake, your DD insurance will go through the roof now

NoSquirrels · 23/04/2021 12:42

It sounds like an unfortunate set of circumstances that led to oversight on your part but I don’t think any of it is useful as a defence that they didn’t contact you.

It’s always been up to the driver to ensure they are insured so alas, it’s feeling fucking awful and getting over it and promising never to let it happen again time.

As a PP said, just look on it as a good thing she didn’t get involved in an accident whilst uninsured.

Chesneyhawkes1 · 23/04/2021 12:42

This happened to me! Also stopped on the motorway. Car was towed there and then. Cost me a fortune in storage fees. I already had 6 points from speeding, so had to go to court where I got a further 6 and a hefty fine. Kept my licence though.

I even had a certificate of insurance still. But they'd cancelled the policy as my no claims from my previous company hadn't been received. I'd had no letter telling me, monthly payments were still going out etc. So I assumed I was still insured.

rainbowthoughts · 23/04/2021 12:48

@Chesneyhawkes1

This happened to me! Also stopped on the motorway. Car was towed there and then. Cost me a fortune in storage fees. I already had 6 points from speeding, so had to go to court where I got a further 6 and a hefty fine. Kept my licence though.

I even had a certificate of insurance still. But they'd cancelled the policy as my no claims from my previous company hadn't been received. I'd had no letter telling me, monthly payments were still going out etc. So I assumed I was still insured.

That's not what happened to OPDD though. OP/her DD didn't arrange insurance after the annual policy expired. Not even closely related to having it cancelled.

rainbowthoughts · 23/04/2021 12:50

@Ilikewinter

Unfortunately this will be a costly mistake, your DD insurance will go through the roof now

She will lose her license.

rainbowthoughts · 23/04/2021 12:51

No insurance is endorsable so you could run a couple of quotes to get an idea of the increase DD will have.

She will lose her license.

fuzzyduck1 · 23/04/2021 12:51

Your lucky.

This happened to me. The insurance didn’t auto renew.
But the impounded my car and had to pay £150 to get it back along with 6 points and a fine.
If she’s only had her licence for 18 months she’ll probably loose her licence as you are only allowed 6 points if you’ve only just passed you test.
If the police let her carry on her journey after finding out she wasn’t insured that is bad as well as they let her carry on driving an uninsured car.
Now put reminders in my phone diary iPad and work email so it never happens again.

TheQueef · 23/04/2021 12:52

@rainbowthoughts

No insurance is endorsable so you could run a couple of quotes to get an idea of the increase DD will have.

She will lose her license.

Good point, forgot DD was probationary.
Beans13 · 23/04/2021 12:55

You were at fault, not the insurers. Why do people never accept personal responsibility for these things?

It's a shit situation and I feel bad for you and your DD, but ultimately it's your fault.

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