# Insurance company want to cancel my policy



## MirfieldMat (Mar 13, 2011)

So here is the story,

I have taken out some motor trade insurance on the 19th August. I have 3 years no claims discount as a named driver and my insurers (broker is premium choice, insurers are tradewise) were fine with it, as long as i can prove it. they quoted me a good price in comparison to every where else, taking into account the ncd.

It all got set up, got the documents through and it had the wrong name on (got my first name wrong). I spoke to my insurance company (direct line) for ncd proof and they said i couldnt use it as it was only to be used on a policy of my own from them.

i then rang PC back, within a week of starting the policy, and told them about DL's refusal to play ball and the fact they have my name wrong. They changed my name but didnt send me any new documents with the right name on. The only proof i could provide was the screen print from when i log in to the DL website and in my account it states years claim free driving and all that jazz. I also sent a copy of my insurance certificate to tally the policy numbers. PC said that is fine.

sent it off, then a few weeks later, i got a letter from PC saying i need to contact DL to get proof of ncd as they have rung and wont give it. 

I rang PC and told them i what i have done already and the proof i have sent and that i have spoke to DL and they wont play. They said they would ring them back and try again for me.

Then a few more weeks passed and i recieve another letter from PC saying i have 7 days to prove my ncd as they have spoken to DL and they wont play still.

i then rang DL again and explained the situation, this time they said ok we will send some documentation detailing how long i have been named on the policy with claim free driving. great stuff. finaly a break through. i told them of the urgency and i will pay to have it sent first class. they refused as they have to send it through 3 different departments so will be 7 working days.

i rang PC back told them i have spoken to DL and they have said they will send me some documents and i will email it as soon as i get it.

a week later, still no documents from DL, but recieved another letter from PC stating i had 7 days before they commencing cancellation proceedings. 

rang DL, they say they sent it 10 days ago, they will send me another.

friday - recieved a letter from PC saying they are cancelling.

rang them to explain. will try to get another 7 days for me but if not then the policy will be cancelled as of the 24th november.

so i am in a bit of a pickle. 

I was perfectly happy to cancel the policy once i knew DL wouldnt provide my proof of ncd, but PC said that the proof i could get hold of was enough. That frustrates me a lot as none of this would have happened if i had cancelled it and they hadnt lied and said it was adequate proof. I got quoted another price from some other insurer that was £100 more but didnt take into account my ncd as they didnt accept named driver discount but would give me a nice intro discount. that would have been infinitely better than this. 

All in all i am very pissed off. I am now stuck with what seems like a cancelation that i will have to pay the premium on full for as it will have gone into the 4th month, and the t+c's say i have to pay the full premium from 4 months onwards if it is cancelled, even though it isnt my fault it is getting cancelled. 

Direct line have pissed me off for not sending the proof when asked the first 3 times, and then the documents getting mysteriously lost in transit. When i finally got them to agree to sending out the proof they had told me that premium choice had spoke to them already, so why didnt they just tell them what they wanted to know. 

so i am buggered. i have a payment going out monday for it at £126. and when it is cancelled i then have to find another £250-300 for the first installment of a new policy as well as pay this one. 

I dont really know what to do as i cant afford it, and could only just afford it in the first place.

  :wall:


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## Deanoecosse (Mar 15, 2007)

Were you only a "named driver" under your original Direct Line policy? I wasn't aware you could actually accrue any NCB that way and thought a policy had to be in your own name in order to gain NCB? 
However, if the new company are willing to discount your policy for having NCB as a named driver, do you not have your last renewal letter from Direct Line stating your are entitled to X years of NCB?


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## centenary (Sep 5, 2010)

Seems strange dL wont provide proof. Have you asked them why they wont provide proof or is this something you are holding back on?

Im aware a couple of ins co's allow named drivers to build an NCD in their own name ie tesco & admiral to name 2 but, they normally state this is only for policies taken out with them.

I think you need to follow up with DL's customer service exactly why they wouldnt provide proof and seek to recover your costs from them if they have been unreasonable.

Once you've gone through that process and are still unhappy with DL's action and have exhausted all avenues with them, you can complain to the Insurance Ombudsman.


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## MirfieldMat (Mar 13, 2011)

Deanoecosse said:


> Were you only a "named driver" under your original Direct Line policy? I wasn't aware you could actually accrue any NCB that way and thought a policy had to be in your own name in order to gain NCB?
> However, if the new company are willing to discount your policy for having NCB as a named driver, do you not have your last renewal letter from Direct Line stating your are entitled to X years of NCB?


yes you can get ncd as a named driver, but can only use them on other policies if the insurance company is willing to accept them. There is no proof what so ever on documentation, you have to request it. even the renewal letter states nothing, except price and cover.



centenary said:


> Seems strange dL wont provide proof. Have you asked them why they wont provide proof or is this something you are holding back on?
> 
> Im aware a couple of ins co's allow named drivers to build an NCD in their own name ie tesco & admiral to name 2 but, they normally state this is only for policies taken out with them.
> 
> ...


They originally said they wouldnt provide proof because i was only a named driver so couldnt use the 'bonus' for myself unless it was on another DL policy of my own. I explained this to PC but they said it is upto the discretion of other companies whether to accept bonus accrued as named driver, not the company issuing the proof. And as the policy wasnt in my name they refused to provide proof. It wasnt until PC had tried twice and i had tried twice that they finally agreed to a letterheaded paper stating i have been named as a driver claim free.

I will be going down that route with DL if it gets that far, as i certainly wont be paying for something that has been cancelled by no fault of my own.

I have pm'd lloyd (shiny) so hope he will offer some advice on the matter.


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## Shiny (Apr 23, 2007)

You have a pm...


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## Shinyvec (Feb 12, 2010)

Premium Choice are a bunch of tosspots as they stitched up my daughter big time. £ years ago my daughter had a accident with another car that was on her side of the road and ran into her and he went to a NoWin NO Fee solictor and was claining WhipLash Back Injuries , Loss of wok, Written off car etc but he was also harrasing my daughter at her house and out on the road so she moved and Premium Choice said that they were cancelling her Insureance as they didnt cover that new area where she lived but demanded all of the remaining money as she was paying monthly and had just used about 6 months worth but they wanted the full 12 months. Cut a long story short, she refused to pay for the Insureance that she was not going to get but the did fight the case but gave in and paid the other party close to £20,000 as he had loads of Witneses but didnt in real life etc , all a big con and now my daughter has lost all her No Claims because she was driving on the road fully legal in every way and a con artist wanted money. I hope Premium Choice go bump .


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## MirfieldMat (Mar 13, 2011)

update - PC managed to get TW to agree to a seven day extension to allow time for my DL proof. As before, the proof never came. Now, what i hadnt realised is that when PC phoned DL for confirmation of no claims, DL confirmed it verbally. So when i questioned PC about it they said it needed to be in writing. 

Very annoying.

While on the phone to PC i asked that they provide me a new price based on zero no claims. they said fine, we will ring you back with a price.

The phone call never came but a week later I recieved another letter from PC saying they are cancelling as of the 7/12/11 due to no proof of no claims and i should find alternative insurance. This seemed strange as i had asked for a new price to carry on the insurance so i hadnt wasted months of installments for nothing, but instead i get a cancellation letter. I assume they arent bothered about my custom thats whey they are cancelling as opposed to offering a new price.

So i took the advice to find more insurance and got on to coversure. Very helpful as per usual and sorted out my insurance, paid my first installment and set it up to start from the date and time my PC policy expires.

Brilliant, insurance sorted and it works out a little cheaper and i dont need to mess around with Direct line anymore. 

Then, Thursday 8/12/11 the day after my policy is cancelled, I recieve a letter from PC. I assume it would be a letter confirming cancellation. 

Oh no. That would be too easy.

Instead they send me a letter stating if I pay X amount as the difference then i can carry on my policy based on zero no claims. 

WTF??

Bearing in mind this is nearly 2 weeks after i had asked for it, and i recieved it the day after i thought it had been cancelled! The letter is dated the 5th and i recieved it on the 8th. surely, if anybody there had some brains, they would have sent it well in advance of the cancellation date or at least posted first class so i recieved it before the cancellation date.

Really good timing and superb effiency on their part.

The letter says i have 7 days to respond and pay or they will assume i want to cancel and cancel.

I will tell you something for nothing, premium choice is a foooking joke.

If they had been bothered to ring me or email me the new price I would have paid it and carried it on. However, I now cant afford it having taken out some new insurance.

I wonder when they cancel it where that leaves me, as they are saying that when it is cancelled there will be a considerable shortfall for me to pay based on the refund calculations. Im not/wasnt even cancelling in the first place, they were. Lloyd seems to reckon it should get refunded pro rata since they are cancelling but i have a terrible feeling I am going to get stuffed for a big bill.

I suppose the easiest thing to do would be to cancel my new policy with coversure and carry on my PC policy, but i already have PL insurance through coversure and they are a damn sight more helpful, efficient and ring you when they say they will. customer service speaks volumes for me. So purely out of principle I would rather stick with coversure.
But then there is the niggling feeling i am gonna get screwed over by PC/TW.

I hate bloody insurance.

I dont know what to do!! :wall::wall:


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## Shiny (Apr 23, 2007)

Hi Matt

You must have spoke to Jayne last week as i was out of the office most of last week on appointments. Glad she sorted you out.

PC should have phoned you before the seven days were up, sending a further letter that close to the end of the 7 days is just silly.

Quite simply you received a statutory letter of 7 day cancellation (recorded delivery) advising you to the policy will be cancelled 07/12/11. In the absence of a phone call advising you of the gross premium (ie without NCB) you had no choice but to act on the statutory notice and arranged insurance elsewhere wef 07/12/11.

You'd be best of ringing them and sorting this out or they will end up charging you for insurance you now have covered elsewhere.


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## MirfieldMat (Mar 13, 2011)

All sorted now (i think).

Sent a strongly worded letter along with my insurance certificate.

They rang me to discuss my concerns from the letter and have said that they have done a few things wrong and I am right to feel aggrieved. Hopefully this is the end of it. The policy is cancelled, they have waived there cancellation fees and admin fees and are negotiating a proper refund with tradewise so that it wont cost me anything with regards paying finance/insurance loan.


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