Has My Insurance Been Canceled?

[fireball87]

Has my insurance been canceled?

Ok so... back in 2007 i had a drink and drove my vehicle and crashed into a building. I was caught and given 20 month ban which was reduced to 15 after i attended a course.

I've been driving ever since my ban ended and had no accidents or issues. Although the insurance was very expensive then for a 1.0L car I now own multiple vehicles and a motorbike and although i now pay a hell of a lot for insurance its purely down to the face that my vehicles are high powered.

So.. to the nighty gritty bit.. Obviously if asked over the phone have i ever been banned i always say yes and give them details (most just ask within 4 years i think, its just the bespoke insures that ask "ever") but .... all insurance companies ask me have i ever had insurance cancelled or declined. By declined i'm assuming they mean like a missed payment or something? And the big one for me is cancelled because i just don't know if my insurance was cancelled due to drink driving and i can't even remember who i was insured with as I've moved house twice and have none of the paperwork. how can i find out? am i lying by saying no? dose it even matter as it was so long ago?

Please don't troll me about the above because it won't achieve anything. I'm just after an answer for the second half of the last paragraph.

thanks

[Buenchico]

'Declined' simply refers to a situation where you've asked an insurer to provide you with cover and they've said "No way, mate!". However it doesn't matter to you anyway, as I'll explain below:

Your motoring conviction is spent. If you're asked if you've ever been banned from driving you can lawfully answer 'No'.

Further, because the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act covers 'circumstances ancillary to a spent conviction', as well as the conviction itself, if you've ever been declined insurance solely because of your drink-driving conviction, you can lawfully answer 'No' to a question asking if you've ever had motoring insurance declined. (The same would apply if you were asked if you've ever had motoring insurance cancelled. Even if you had, as long as it was solely because of your drink-driving conviction, you can lawfully answer 'No').

http://hub.unlock.org.uk/knowledgebase/motoring-convictions-and-the-rehabilitation-of-offenders-act/

However a drink-driving on your licence can't be removed for 11 years from the date of conviction, so that's the one thing you'll have to live with for a bit longer:
https://www.gov.uk/penalty-points-endorsements/how-long-endorsements-stay-on-your-driving-licence

[ToraToraTora]

Cancelled means that they would write to you saying that they are withdrawing cover, very unlikely. Even If you get banned that does not cancel insurance, it will still be in force for the year you paid for, they would not even know or care that you had been banned, insurance companies care only about claims and the likelihood of claims. So I'd say you can confidently answer no to the "cancelled" question.

[Peter Pedant]

It is pretty obvious you have NOT had your insurance cancelled

if you answer yes ever you will never get insured for anything ever again ....
( strong indicator of a fraud/attempted fraud )

declining to insure is always a big deal
and even a refused application will be recorded on their mega computers
which accounts for the data input clerk asking
I am gonna press send - you OK with that... can I press send ? right I am gonna do it now .....

[ and I thought christ you got cerebral palsy or something ? but hat of course is another story and I wasnt refused insurance )

[douglas9401]

It's a funny old world where you can lie in a straight answer to a straight question but actually be telling the truth.

[derekpara]

Well spotted, Doug !

D

[fireball87]

Ok, I'm not really interested in if they ask in the last four years or ever. Some do ask ever but they are not the mainstream they you guys would be using. They are for high powered, bespoke or heavily modified vehicles.

I guess i should tell you a little more...

I caused around 30K of damage when i crashed. The insurance company wanted 30k back off me. I obviously didn't have that at the age of 20 but did have 15k and offered them that as a one off payment and they snapped my hand off. I think because most people who do what i did would just pay back at £5 per week i guess.

So, anyway... I don't want to go over stuff thats not needed here. My question is how can i find out if I've had insurance cancelled if i can't remember who i was with?

I seem to remember getting a letter saying i no longer had insurance with them but this was years ago it could of said cancelled for all i know i just don't know and have no way of finding out.

[douglas9401]

Ahhhhhhh, gotcha now fb87.
What you need is a DeLorean (with accessories) set for the date and time that your missing letter was delivered.

Once you sort out the sticky stuff head for Fantasy Island for R & R.

K?

30K.

[Davemano]

I would known which company had cancelled my insurance and for someone who is into vehicles, well....................

[SirOracle]

If you write off your vehicle then your insurance cover is terminated as the subject matter of the insurance no longer exists,and the Insurer tells you that your insurance has ceased.

This is not taking into account the £30 thousand you say was paid out by them to a Third Party. This TP payment could be the reason that you were refused insurance,particularly as drink was involved.

I get the feeling that we are not being given all the facts here.

[fireball87]

Wow, no one warned me there were comedians on here. Jesus, your so funny guys!

Anyway, back to the point in hand…

I now keep a meticulous collection of NCB and all associated insurance documentation. Learn by your mistakes I guess.

SirOracle, maybe your correct in saying the letter was just saying the insurance had ceased.

[Peter Pedant]

what we have been told of the "back story " is pretty funny too ....