to think this is illegal?

[CruzControl]

I have a provisional driving license and DH has a full, clean driving license. I was a named driver on his insurance. I had a seizure and the doctor said to stop driving (I barely did anyway) and contact the DVLA (which I did). We contacted our insurance company to tell them and remove me as a named driver. They've spent the last three months trying to decide what to do (apparently this is a VERY complicated situation for their tiny brains to understand).
They've now come back to us and said they're cancelling our insurance. We have to declare to all future insurers that we've had our insurance cancelled. In addition, they are charging us £125 for a cancellation fee!
They're saying they can't leave me on the policy because I don't have a valid license (because of the seizure) and that they can't take me off the policy without cancelling the whole policy.
Our insurance premium with everyone else will skyrocket and we've lost our no claims bonus - which seems unbelievably unfair. AIBU to think this is illegal? If so, what can I do about it?

Ridiculous. What if someone dies? Do they cancel the whole thing then?

I cannot imagine that it would be illegal for an insurance company to cancel a policy. However it doesn’t sound correct and I do feel sure it should have been dealt with differently.

@Thiswayorthatway

Try the Financial Ombudsman if a complaint to the insurers gets nowhere

This was what I was going to suggest.

Not taking you off the policy is just nonsense!

If this was all they could do, you would be better staying o and just not driving.

Unfortunately, we can't go to the FO until the internal complaint has been resolved. In the meantime, our new insurance premiums are 2.5x our last premiums because we've had a policy "cancelled" - even though we've done absolutely nothing at all wrong!!

Email the consumer champions of the Times, the Telegraph or the Guardian with all the info they need to investigate. BBC's Moneybox also gets results. Here's the Guardian link:

[email protected].

Companies really don't like having their sharp practice exposed in the media. Your situation, from what you've told us, is patently unfair. I think you've a good chance of them selecting it.

I can't not drive and stay on the policy. I think they've realised I legally must be removed from the policy because I don't have a licence - therefore, they can do whatever they want because they know I NEED to be removed. If I were simply choosing not to be on the policy anymore and they tried to pull this shit then I'd just stay on and they wouldn't get anything. It's a complete abuse of power.

It sounds to me like one of two things has happened ...

1. despite the OPs OP, they are actually the main driver on the policy. In which case removing them does invalidate the policy.

2. Even though (1) isn't the case the insurance company have misunderstood the situation to believe it is, and are proceeding as appropriate.

A very careful reading of the policy and schedule is in order before deciding whether and where the shitcannon needs aiming.

I'd go to the Guardian as @Shedbuilder says.

They get some remarkable outcomes, and love a story like this where there's a discrimination element.

Slightly different but we had an issue with our energy supplier and when i complained they weren't interested. The back and forth communication went on for weeks and they kept saying "our decision is final". Once I referred to the ombudsman, it wasnt as long winded as I had expected. The matter was resolved quite quickly in my favour and they actually ended up owing me money instead of the money they had insisted i owed them. They continued to provide my energy too in the process.

I would imagine insurance has strict rules and are underwritten by a bigger company. Perhaps review and contact their underwriters and then look to refer to the ombudsman?

@ProfessorSlocombe

It sounds to me like one of two things has happened ...

1. despite the OPs OP, they are actually the main driver on the policy. In which case removing them does invalidate the policy.

2. Even though (1) isn't the case the insurance company have misunderstood the situation to believe it is, and are proceeding as appropriate.

A very careful reading of the policy and schedule is in order before deciding whether and where the shitcannon needs aiming.

I am NOT the main driver on the policy and they have NOT misunderstood. But thank you for your accusations.

@Dunnowhat2do

Slightly different but we had an issue with our energy supplier and when i complained they weren't interested. The back and forth communication went on for weeks and they kept saying "our decision is final". Once I referred to the ombudsman, it wasnt as long winded as I had expected. The matter was resolved quite quickly in my favour and they actually ended up owing me money instead of the money they had insisted i owed them. They continued to provide my energy too in the process.

I would imagine insurance has strict rules and are underwritten by a bigger company. Perhaps review and contact their underwriters and then look to refer to the ombudsman?

Thank you - I'll definitely be contacting the ombudsman when I can but they won't accept anything until the insurance company's internal complaints are resolved. Apparently this will take a long time.

@LakieLady

I'd go to the Guardian as *@Shedbuilder* says.

They get some remarkable outcomes, and love a story like this where there's a discrimination element.

On it - thank you.

@Dunnowhat2do and OP don't contact the underwriter yourself go straight to the financial ombudsman service if your insurer doesn't play ball. It is very easy to do though there is a backlog of a few months.

I went to the financial ombudsman about a policy sold to me incorrectly by a well-known bank. I caught them out because I sent a letter by registered mail when the staff member didn't fully answer my query on the phone and still sold me the policy, then later another staff member said the policy they sold me was invalid and wouldn't give me a refund.

The well-known bank refused to co-operate with the financial ombudsman service, so the financial ombudsman service contacted Aviva the underwriter. Aviva refunded me and gave me compensation very quickly after being contacted by the financial ombudsman.

I am NOT the main driver on the policy and they have NOT misunderstood. But thank you for your accusations

The insurance co might have different ideas, OP.

I renewed the insurance on my old car with me as the main driver and DP as the 2nd driver. A few months later, I got a new car and when I rang them to see how much it would cost to change the insurance, I was told that I was the second driver and it was their practice to put the man as the main driver when both drivers live at the same address.

Then they wanted £25 to put it back the way it should have been! Needless to say, I didn't renew with them.

@LakieLady

I am NOT the main driver on the policy and they have NOT misunderstood. But thank you for your accusations

The insurance co might have different ideas, OP.

I renewed the insurance on my old car with me as the main driver and DP as the 2nd driver. A few months later, I got a new car and when I rang them to see how much it would cost to change the insurance, I was told that I was the second driver and it was their practice to put the man as the main driver when both drivers live at the same address.

Then they wanted £25 to put it back the way it should have been! Needless to say, I didn't renew with them.

I have the official documentation in front of me right now - DH is the "policy holder" and I am the "named driver".

Ridiculous question, but we’re you actually listed as a learner driver on the policy? You say we’ll lose our no claims but surely as only a provisional license holder you won’t actually have any?

Underwriter here - all sounds very odd.
Re the extra premium tou are now paying; you need your current insurers to give you an EXACT reason why they've cancelled your policy. I suspect they'll come back with some thing along the lines of you 'no longer meeting underwriting criteria/ risk appitite' etc. If that's the case new companies wont take that as a cancellation against you.
The cancellation question is there to catch people who have had policies cancelled for fraud/misrepresentation not due to underwriting criteria.
I strongly strongly recommend going to an old fashioned broker as they can go through all this with you.

As for FOS - they give comoanies 8 weeks to respond to a complaint. You cant escalate it before then. They can give you advice, but they are bound to allow the company time to respond.

I am NOT the main driver on the policy and they have NOT misunderstood. But thank you for your accusations.

Touchy much ? No accusation was made or implied. Just a suggestion as to something which may have happened - since I've seen it before.

That's ridiculous. When my XH left, I just rang up the company and asked them to remove him, which they did with no problem.

I would definitely go through their complaints procedure and then if you don't get anywhere with that, go to the ombudsman.

Touchy much ? Understandably so! Her insurance company, who does have all of ther facts, has made an egregious error, one that is costing her real money. And now some anonymous personage, who does not have all of the facts to hand, is posting some similar sounding stuff - as in: check your policy, you may have made a simple error.

She is being snippy because the situaton is already fraught with health issues and ludicrous, as it should have been very simple for the insurance company to do as requested!

Have a heart!

Touchy much ? Understandably so! Her insurance company, who does have all of ther facts, has made an egregious error, one that is costing her real money. And now some anonymous personage, who does not have all of the facts to hand, is posting some similar sounding stuff - as in: check your policy, you may have made a simple error.

Is it international not reading day ?

I didn't say the OP had made a mistake as an insult, but as a suggestion that they may have and even if they hadn't the insurer may have.

Certainly I've had experiences where I've dealt with companies and it's only dawned - well into a disagreement - that they were either working from different documents or not reading the documents they had in front of them. Even when they have "all of the facts".

It should be disagreement 101 that after checking you have your facts right, you check that the other party is working from the same facts. That is check not assume.

Believe you me, if I wanted to insult a poster, then it wouldn't be by trying to give advice from personal experience.

Seems the thread has moved on, and the OP has now confirmed their understanding and their insurers understanding concur. However that wasn't known when I posted and may have been an avenue worth pursuing.

Please have one more go at explaining to your Insurer, using their language may help :

Your policy is currently "Insured and Spouse"
You want to change to "Insured only driving"

(Assuming as you have said upthread that your DH is the main driver /first named policyholder)

They may charge you a change fee - their admin fee for making the change

They may also charge an additional premium ( bizarre but statistically valid quirk of motor insurance pricing is that policies with insured and spouse have better results than insured only driving, therefore statistically the policy is riskier with one driver than two) - this is in addition to the change fee as it reflects the change in risk profile

They do NOT need to cancel the policy to effect this change

Ask them for a written response if they say they can't

@Laaalaaaa

Ridiculous question, but we’re you actually listed as a learner driver on the policy? You say we’ll lose our no claims but surely as only a provisional license holder you won’t actually have any?

Yes, listed as on a provisional licence. DH has had his licence for five years so had five years no claims which is now lost.

@ProfessorSlocombe

I am NOT the main driver on the policy and they have NOT misunderstood. But thank you for your accusations.

Touchy much ? No accusation was made or implied. Just a suggestion as to something which may have happened - since I've seen it before.

You accused me of lying. You very clearly accused me of lying. And tbh, I am a bit touchy on the holier than thou, know-it-alls who fly around this site acting like Sherlock Holmes.

We got caught out when we changed our car , previously we would be able to just change the policy over for an admin fee , but they cancelled the entire thing and charged us £75 and wondered why we wouldn't have a new policy with them.