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Vehicle Insurance – A Question For New Judge
As a magistrate, what is your verdict in my hypothetical case outlined below?
Appearing before you, I have been charged with driving without insurance.
The facts are as follows; I renewed my annual vehicle insurance (by phone) with my current provider and received confirmation that the policy had been renewed by e-mail – with the insurance premium paid by credit card, with the payment going through at the time of the phone call.
A few weeks later I was stopped by the police, charged with driving without insurance and the vehicle impounded.
Unbeknown to me, my insurance company had made a mistake in the premium payable for my insurance cover – and wanted an additional £150, otherwise they would cancel the policy.
My insurance company had sent me an e-mail outlining the above, saying that they had made a mistake in the premium payable and that if the additional amount was not paid within 7 days they would cancel the policy. Unfortunately the e-mail ended up in my junk folder and I did not see it.
So despite having paid the agreed insurance premium, my insurance company unilaterally voided the cover, due to a mistake they made.
In the above scenario would I be found guilty of driving without insurance, having no knowledge of the insurance I arranged and paid for, being cancelled due to a mistake made by the insurance company?
Appearing before you, I have been charged with driving without insurance.
The facts are as follows; I renewed my annual vehicle insurance (by phone) with my current provider and received confirmation that the policy had been renewed by e-mail – with the insurance premium paid by credit card, with the payment going through at the time of the phone call.
A few weeks later I was stopped by the police, charged with driving without insurance and the vehicle impounded.
Unbeknown to me, my insurance company had made a mistake in the premium payable for my insurance cover – and wanted an additional £150, otherwise they would cancel the policy.
My insurance company had sent me an e-mail outlining the above, saying that they had made a mistake in the premium payable and that if the additional amount was not paid within 7 days they would cancel the policy. Unfortunately the e-mail ended up in my junk folder and I did not see it.
So despite having paid the agreed insurance premium, my insurance company unilaterally voided the cover, due to a mistake they made.
In the above scenario would I be found guilty of driving without insurance, having no knowledge of the insurance I arranged and paid for, being cancelled due to a mistake made by the insurance company?
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I know Barry, but the situation would not have arisen had Barry requested contact by letter. It would also not have happened had he checked his email’s spam folder. Having a smart phone, where emails can be checked with a couple of clicks of a button with or without wifi, might also have averted the situation.
//Maybe NJ hasn’t risen yet…//
NJ’s been away.
//As a magistrate,…//
Eh?
I have a certain sympathy for your situation. But….it is incumbent on all drivers to make sure Third Party cover is in place before they drive. When you take out (or renew) an insurance policy you are usually told how your documentation will be provided. If you were told that no “paper” documents will be sent and that correspondence will be electronic (by e-mail and usually with policy documents being accessible online) you are in a fairly weak position. You should expect that anything the insurers want to inform you of will be conveyed in the same way.
That said, I think you have two avenues to explore:
Firstly, I think you should approach your (now former) insurers and ask them whether they would consider, as the architects of your predicament, providing retrospective cover. It’s a long shot but certainly worth a try for two reasons (one obvious and another which I shall explain below). If they decline, you could approach the insurance ombudsman for a ruling. I have an idea that this might not succeed, especially if you took the policy on the condition that correspondence would be solely electronic. But again, especially as it was a renewal rather than a new proposal, worth a try and it will cost nothing.
The second avenue is to ask a court to find that there are “Special Reasons” not endorse your licence (SRNE). The court has the power to do this in circumstances where the defendant is guilty but that there is good reason not to order an endorsement (and either penalty points or a disqualification). You are certain to be offered a fixed penalty (£300 and 6 points) for the offence. If you want to argue SRNE you must decline that offer and instead let the matter proceed to court. Ideally you should have a decision from your insurers by the time you enter your plea. Of course if they agree to provide retrospective cover then you plead Not Guilty and, providing you have evidence of that cover, the police should offer no evidence. If no cover is confirmed then I believe you should plead Guilty, but ask the court to consider your Special Reasons argument. From what you say it sounds a good argument. This is especially as as you had insurance up to renewal, renewed (so you thought) on the basis of what the insurers asked of you and it was only your failure to see their notice pointing out their mistake that led to the cancellation. If the court did find SRNE I would also expect them to impose no fine, but instead order an absolute discharge (and no costs).
There is one further long term implication arising from this. You have now are in the very unfortunate position of having had a motor policy cancelled. As things stand, you will have to declare this forever. There have been occasional efforts to have such a cancellation considered “spent” in the same way as criminal convictions are, but these have come to nought and policy proposers can be asked if they have ever had a policy cancelled, and you will have to say that you have. The potential for increased premiums resulting from this can sometimes be considerable.
This cancellation seems to be very unfortunate and not very well handled by the insurers. It may be technically your fault by omission. But I happen to think that, especially where the error was on their part, they should make more effort to ensure the policyholder is aware - rather than simply assuming that he is - of what in fact can have very serious and expensive repercussions.
Let us know how you get on.
NJ’s been away.
//As a magistrate,…//
Eh?
I have a certain sympathy for your situation. But….it is incumbent on all drivers to make sure Third Party cover is in place before they drive. When you take out (or renew) an insurance policy you are usually told how your documentation will be provided. If you were told that no “paper” documents will be sent and that correspondence will be electronic (by e-mail and usually with policy documents being accessible online) you are in a fairly weak position. You should expect that anything the insurers want to inform you of will be conveyed in the same way.
That said, I think you have two avenues to explore:
Firstly, I think you should approach your (now former) insurers and ask them whether they would consider, as the architects of your predicament, providing retrospective cover. It’s a long shot but certainly worth a try for two reasons (one obvious and another which I shall explain below). If they decline, you could approach the insurance ombudsman for a ruling. I have an idea that this might not succeed, especially if you took the policy on the condition that correspondence would be solely electronic. But again, especially as it was a renewal rather than a new proposal, worth a try and it will cost nothing.
The second avenue is to ask a court to find that there are “Special Reasons” not endorse your licence (SRNE). The court has the power to do this in circumstances where the defendant is guilty but that there is good reason not to order an endorsement (and either penalty points or a disqualification). You are certain to be offered a fixed penalty (£300 and 6 points) for the offence. If you want to argue SRNE you must decline that offer and instead let the matter proceed to court. Ideally you should have a decision from your insurers by the time you enter your plea. Of course if they agree to provide retrospective cover then you plead Not Guilty and, providing you have evidence of that cover, the police should offer no evidence. If no cover is confirmed then I believe you should plead Guilty, but ask the court to consider your Special Reasons argument. From what you say it sounds a good argument. This is especially as as you had insurance up to renewal, renewed (so you thought) on the basis of what the insurers asked of you and it was only your failure to see their notice pointing out their mistake that led to the cancellation. If the court did find SRNE I would also expect them to impose no fine, but instead order an absolute discharge (and no costs).
There is one further long term implication arising from this. You have now are in the very unfortunate position of having had a motor policy cancelled. As things stand, you will have to declare this forever. There have been occasional efforts to have such a cancellation considered “spent” in the same way as criminal convictions are, but these have come to nought and policy proposers can be asked if they have ever had a policy cancelled, and you will have to say that you have. The potential for increased premiums resulting from this can sometimes be considerable.
This cancellation seems to be very unfortunate and not very well handled by the insurers. It may be technically your fault by omission. But I happen to think that, especially where the error was on their part, they should make more effort to ensure the policyholder is aware - rather than simply assuming that he is - of what in fact can have very serious and expensive repercussions.
Let us know how you get on.
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