Car insurance voided by switching after start date?

[TheActualAlexa]

My car insurance expired last week, and auto renewed, but are chasing for credit card. The insurance company quite rightly say the insurance would be cancelled if I don’t pay. I have since found an alternative provider that’s £300 cheaper. The question is this: if I switch, would I have done anything wrong by (in effect) having not paid for any insurance in the interim? Supposing I was found to have gone through a speeding camera in those few days and records checked, would I later appear to the police to have been driving without insurance?

You cannot backdate the start date of insurance so, if you don't renew your current policy and take out a new one, there would be a gap between the policies during which you would have been driving without insurance.

The insurance hasn't been voided - you just didn't pay and it was not able to be renewed . Your new policy starts from the date you paid for it, so yes there may be a period of time when you were uninsured. Nothing you can do about it I'm afraid.

You might find you get hit with a cancellation fee. I had similar happen last year. They auto renewed. I was supposed to tell them in the 30 days prior to auto renewal if I didn't want to. When they chased me for updated payment details (card had expired), I told them I was cancelling. Bastards stung me for £90 cancellation and admin charge. I fought it for almost a year. Finally conceded defeat and paid them.

Thanks all, what I thought. Going to have to suck up the extra money!

By law, insurers must offer a minimum 14-daycooling-off period, during which you are entitled tocancelthe policy. Thecooling-off periodstarts when you receive your documents, or when the cover begins, whichever is the later. But the insurer can still apply afeeto cover the cost of administration. I don't think this means you would be driving without insurance because at the time of driving you were insured, as they auto renewed the policy but were chasing you for the money. I would cancel the policy and go with the new guys and not worry about it.

I doubt you can backdate the cancellation of the policy without having another policy in place.

The law states you must have continuous insurance on your car. Just cancel the policy, suck up the cancellation fee and make sure you’re on the ball with your renewal next year. If you’d contacted them before the renewal date they may have been able to reduce the price or you could have shopped around before it automatically renewed.

@fiydwi I believe you are wrong because the insurance was on auto renew there was continuous insurance in place. The insurance, when cancelled using the 14 day cancellation clause available under consumer law, does not retrospectively cancel the period for which the insurance was in place. This is what the CAB say on the matter. Best not to guess these things but look them up using good sites from which you know the provenance, as most posters are wrong.

Cancelling during the cooling-off period

You may want to cancel an insurance policy if you have just bought it and have changed your mind. By law, you have a minimum 14-day cooling-off period during which you can cancel the policy for any reason. If you’ve bought life insurance, the cooling-off period is 30 days.

The cooling-off period starts from when the policy begins or when you receive your policy documents, whichever is later. You should get a refund of any premiums you have already paid. However, your insurer may take off a small amount to cover days when the policy was in force. They may also charge you a small administration fee.

Some insurers may give you a longer cooling-off period. If you’re not sure how long your cooling-off period is, you can check the terms of your insurance policy.

If you want to cancel your policy during the cooling-off period you should contact your insurer as soon as possible

The right to cancel during a cooling-off period does not apply to travel insurance that lasts less than one month.