Advice please, cancelling a motor insurance policy on behalf of bereaved parent.

[SaveOur]

After a number of calls and providing my DF’s death certificate, the motor insurance company will not reimburse the overpayment given the policy has ended early, without proof. They have been provided with DF’s DoB, address and car registration number.

They have asked that my 85 year old DM email them to confirm who she is and also provide a solicitor's letter, wriiten to them to confirm who the executor is.

Is this usual? ( or excessive)

It doesn't sound great but if they are being asked to pay out money then yes, they do need to confirm that whoever is asking for the refund is entitled to claim it.

I needed to send proof of ID for both myself and my co-executor to get about £250 of my late parents' overpaid council tax back, for example.

More than happy to provide ID or that of my DM. The cheque is to be posted back to my DM at her home address, where the car was registered.

Having to pay a solicitor to write requested letter will likely cost more than the reimbursement! 🙃

Is there a will you could send them a copy of? I think we couldn't even get the council tax refund until we had a grant of probate, which named both me and the other executor, so I had to send them a copy of that with our IDs.

Surely the executors have authority to manage such things once probate has been granted

is there a will stating who the executor is? That should be enough surely?

Santander were like this when my Dad died. Just awful to my mum. Barclays were amazing. The total opposite and full of compassion.
Orange on the other hand (before they became EE) kept demanding to speak to the account holder after informing them in every arrangement of words & all the ways I could think of, that he was dead….I still got “Please ask the account holder to call us”

Yes, I was asked if I was the policy holder and when I said I wasn't, they asked if I could put him on the phone.

I reminded the staff member, again, that we were discussing my dead father.

Thanks for responding. I'm not sure but they want the evidence emailed which my DM can't do.
Tbh the insurance company don't seem to know what they want. They wanted my DM to email them to say ‘I am…the executor’. ( except DM has no email so it would have to come from me…and there I was talking to them…)

This is particularly about 1st Central demanding a solicitor's letter. Do we really have to pay a solicitor to write to the insurance company to cancel a motor policy and be able to have a cheque sent?

I asked if they could email me a copy of their cancellation policy for clarity. Staff member said she doesn't have access to email either.

that is what this answer is about....why they need a solicitor's letter when the executor would be named in the will or otherwise identified. When you or your mother speak to them, are you asking to speak to the breavement department? Most companies have one and they tend to be terr trained....been through this three times now, Mother, Mil and late husband. I do know what its like though, Homecare the plumbing and electrical repair insurance firm were awful.

Create an email address on behalf of your mum and manage it for her.

I had the same thought as the poster above, have you specifically asked to speak to the Bereavement team? I found that even usually hopeless companies had a good bereavement team who were efficient and helpful.

https://help.1stcentralinsurance.com/general/contact/what-are-your-opening-hours-and-contact-numbers

I’d complain tbh. No separate bereavement team either.

I'm so sorry you're having this experience

I didn't have any trouble at all with my father's insurance but they cross checked with the DVLA and that was it.

I noticed there's no mention of the DVLA in your things that they've asked you to provide. But they should be able to do that check.

My father died in 2018 which is before this kind of thing got really problematic though. But DVLA strikes me as the most obvious check.

I'm not sure, but is it worth going through Resolver? Sometimes the fact that a complaint has been escalated there can help.

Also copy in one of the bosses….

[email protected]

I'd tell them either they pull their fingers out or you will burn them on social media while writing to their CEO.

The reason most companies do have bereavement teams is that they've had terrible publicity from behaviour like this. Get angry.

Make sure you are speaking to the Bereavement Team - they are so much more helpful.

I got directed to this page but I'm guessing that's the number you called

help.1stcentralinsurance.com/motor/general/how-do-i-tell-you-if-a-policyholder-or-named-driver-has-passed-away

I’ll cut to the end. I went through this all.

Dad died, I wasn’t an executor due to being abroad etc. At the time of will writing, Mum was an executor and still extant.

I had to on a couple of occasions, on the phone, impersonate her, to get them to send the required documents. It was easy. Other, most companies - accepted ‘hi, I’m calling on behalf of my elderly mother, can you please send us the relevant forms to fill in?’

No problem.

When she died, I was an executor, and had a couple of stupid conversations along the lines of ‘I must talk to the policy holder’. But he’s DEAD! etc. I almost never ask to ‘speak to a manager’ , but on these odd occasions, sorted within minutes.

Most big companies have a death/bereavement team. Who will read a script, but a nice one, about being sorry for your loss etc.

The thing is, it’s pretty irrelevant who the spouse of a deceased person is, even if they are the executor - what IS relevant is what the Will says. The money you want reimbursing has to be paid out to the executor, and the on,y way of proving whom that person is, is to see sight of the Will.
So, you can create an email address for your DM then send a scanned copy of the will plus proof of your DMs identity. That’s usually a passport and a current utility bill.

I'd do as they request, but in place of the solicitor's letter I'd attach a copy of the will showing who the executors are.

Have you done the Tell us Once service?
https://www.gov.uk/after-a-death/organisations-you-need-to-contact-and-tell-us-once
This should cancel the deceased's driving licence.
Then write from your mother as executor of the will with copy of will (or set up email as [email protected] or whatever & write email ) stating he died on x date and DVLA have been informed, his licence cancelled and confirm your phone request a refund of the remaining policy.
Insurance should be able to check his licence has been cancelled by DVLA and that should work (we had similar nonsense)

This brings back memories of trying to cancel my son's mobile phone account. I could not speak to a person, just an endless loop of password and security questions. In the end I pressed the button for sales and got an actual human. I then had to explain to him that I was not buying, just looking for someone who could deal with the account of someone who had died. Bless him, he sounded very young, but he was kind and helpful. All these companies should have one button in the menu for a bereavement team, to get you through to a human that is trained. Lack of a proper system just makes everything much harder.

Set up a gmail or similar email address in your mum’s name and email from that.
I do this for my mum as they have to email repeat prescription requests in but she can’t use email.

They are requesting strange information, but they do probably need something to tie your mum to your dad and make sure she’s the beneficiary. Don’t pay for a solicitors letter though. Some companies would waive proof/documents if there’s not much money due back, but they might not be that sophisticated.

Have you got a smart phone and access to her documents? I’d send them a complaint - email or post from your address should be fine - make sure you say the word ‘complaint’, say it’s causing significant emotional distress, worry, or anxiety, and tell them your mum is vulnerable on the basis of her age and recently bereaved. Complain that they’re not following customer vulnerability rules and that they’re making things difficult. Enclose/attach a copy of the death certificate, the will if you have one, and your mum’s bank details and ID if she has some (copy of her passport/driving license), and let them sort it from there. Put the policy number on your letter/email header. Photo attachments of documents taken with your phone should be fine to get the ball rolling.

help.1stcentralinsurance.com/general/contact/how-do-i-complain-about-my-car-insurance

I doubt many companies send cheques these days - risk of interception and fraud, and it’s much cheaper to send a BACS payment.

If you ask to speak to the bereavement team at 1st central or escalate it to a manager they are really helpful. I had a similar issue