Cooling Off Period

[Bazile]

Is there a 14 day cooling off period to cancel your car insurance from the date of taking out the cover or renewal of cover ?

[Buenchico]

Scroll down to 'What’s a cooling-off period?' here:
https://www.gocompare.com/car-insurance/guide/administrative-charges/

[Maydup]

There might be on new cover, less likely on a renewal. The answer will be in the small print.

[barry1010]

Yes, even for renewals. It's the law

[Bazile]

From chris's link

What's the point of this 14 day cooling off period if the insurer can still charge for the 14 days on cover ,plus an admin fee ?

[Mamyalynne]

Always check what admin costs are before choosing your insurer, the point of the cooling off period means if you cancel in time then you aren't committed to that policy for a full year.

[Bazile]

But you can cancel a policy at any time .

Mine says -
" if you cancel after it has started , we will return any premium paid less a charge for the number of days for which cover has been given ''

Incidentally mine does not mention a figure of 14 days

[Mamyalynne]

If you are only charged for the days you are covered with no admin then they sound a fair company, well done.

[Buenchico]

As I read it, Bazile, your insurer as gone beyond their statutory duty, by allowing you to cancel at any time during the policy period. So there's no need for them to mention the 14-day statutory period.

[Bazile]

What I mentioned above is in a booklet sent with my policy documents .
It does not mention an admin fee in the booklet .

However in the renewal notice it says there is an admin fee to cancel policy .

So it looks like they will charge for the time on cover ,plus an admin fee as well .

[barry1010]

What insurance company are you with?

[New Judge]

//What's the point of this 14 day cooling off period if the insurer can still charge for the 14 days on cover ,plus an admin fee ?//

Don't know about the admin fee, baz, but the reason they will charge you for the days they provided cover is simply that - they were on cover. If you had an accident during that period they would be liable to meet any claim. If they didn't there would be nothing to stop motorists taking out and cancelling successive policies and pay nothing for insurance. Yes I know that's extreme but people do extreme things when they think they've discovered a wheeze that will save them money. Also you might get people borrowing a car for a couple of weeks and getting cover free.

[barry1010]

Admin fees and cancellation fees are two different beasts. Admin fees must be reasonable and should be only a few pounds. Some insurance companies don't charge admin fees for amending a policy, others charge £20, most are inbetween.
Cancellation fees can be hefty - after all you are breaking a 12 month contract. If you cancel your insurance policy after 6 months you are unlikely to get a refund of half the annual cost. Some motor insurance policies state that if you cancel a policy any time after making a claim you will not be entitled to any refund.