car insurance policy ending early loopholes Q

[pianoman81]

Hi guys. I currently have an insurance policy and wish to cancel it , it should end in november 09 but ive just sold my car to save some money in favor of walking for a while. Problem is my insurers are saying i must pay for the rest of the year anyway even though i have no car ?? So, what i want to know is, what are the loopholes to get out of it for free ? i have heard of the one where you tell them youve just bought a sports car, supercharged it for track use etc etc, basically everything you can tell them that they dont want to hear so that they cannot cover you on it, which then renders the policy void and is cancelled immediatley without any fees, but id like to hear any other ideas or suggestions so i can get out of it for free in case that one fails , or i can get a better idea. Thanks for any info . Gavin.

[tamborine]

your job has been transferred abroad - India - they wont bother looking for you there.

[kempie]

No "loophole" exists in the manner you describe. To lie (i.e. make a false representation) leaves you open to a charge of fraud, the penalty for which (in England & Wales) -

on summary conviction (Magistrates' Court), to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to a fine not exceeding �5,000 (or to both);

on conviction on indictment (Crown Court), to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 10 years or to a fine (or to both).


Congratulations on alerting the insurer to the fact that you wish to cancel the policy. Any outlandish change in circumstances you now offer them will be viewed with much suspicion.

[buildersmate]

Kempie knows more about this stuff than I do - but I thought that insurers had to offer proportional cancellation terms but could also change a 'reasonable' fee in the event that this occurred.
The definition of 'reasonable' means many things to many people and may run to �60-�100 - but again I thought it had to be declared in the T&Cs of the policy?

[TWR]

Check your small print, every one should do the same regards Cancellations & tricks what the Insurers know people do not check.

[pianoman81]

thanks guys.

@ kempie , i have no intention of "frauding" the system.
Therefore i found your tone slightly accusatory, simple question .
p.s there is no "outlandish" change that you speak of, as far as i can see, and i highly doubt if i phone them up informing them i had a new supercharged jag V8 that will be strictly for track use, they will turn me down, therefore voiding the policy and cancelling it.


Its a fairly easy request that insurers like to trap people into , so if you have a problem with me or anybody else finding a way out, i suggest you look at criminal statistics and you may see how they relate- i.e im sure the courts have far more pressing issues than someone who cancelled their poilicy.

Thanks for your input though, irrelevant and useless as it was.

[tali1]

Only after 7 months use do you get no refund(somehow 7months =12 in the crooked world of car insurance)
Therefore your insurance is trying to scam you

[bednobs]

why so defensive -you clearly said in your post you were going to try your idea, but wanted more in case it failed. What you are proposing IS fraud, and kempie was just pointing that out as far as i can see.

the insurance company are not trying to "trap" you. you agreed to a 12 month contract with them, and they agreed to cover you insurance wise for the period of the 12 months. if you'd have had a crash and they said " sorry, we decided to cancel your insurance" then you wuldn't be very happy.
In the normal course of things, you would have paid for the entire policy at the begining. Just because they decided to let you pay monthly, dosent mean your insurance is provided on a monthly basis, it's provided for the whole year.

I really don't think there is anyway of getting out of this contract you have with them

[kempie]

Informing insurer you have a car that you do not = Lie
Lying to make a financial gain = Fraud

Simple answer (and both relevant & useful).

[gouldc]

Kempie has it hit on the head there.

As i actually investigate fraud for the insurer I work for, we tend to see all sorts of things happening to avoid paying what is due (I've moved, I've left the country, etc, etc).

You may think we've let it go, but I love getting people out to spy on our dodgy policyholders!

At the end of the day, if your insurance has a clause stating you must pay for the whole year after a certain period of time, then you have to pay it.

It does, however, seem a bit strange that they would not just charge you a cancellation fee, or have you pay a proportion of the premium - have you made any claims?

[gouldc]

Oh and in regards to the crime statistics, the police actually love insurance fraud as it's a very easy collar - we do all the work, pass them the file, and they proscecute.

I am currently looking to put two of ours away at the moment.