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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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As titled, the question is hypothetical – however the facts are correct up until the notification to cancel the insurance was in my junk e-mail folder (and I did not see it).
I did see the e-mail and contacted my insurer to point out that we (the insurer and I) had entered into a legally binding contract – and that they could not cancel the policy because they had subsequently discovered a mistake on their part.
They refused to accept this, and confirmed that unless I paid the additional £150 the policy would be cancelled – they also pointed out (as you said) that when obtaining any insurance in future, I would have to declare that I had had an insurance policy cancelled by an insurer.
But had I not read the e-mail from the insurance company advising me that the insurance would be cancelled, I would have been driving with no insurance – there was no guarantee that I would read the e-mail not in my junk folder – given the amount of junk e-mails in my normal folder.
You may say, well it never happened, but I could have been involved in an accident that was my fault, and being uninsured, faced potentially unlimited liability.
To me, the insurer’s actions were totally unacceptable; under contract law one party cannot cancel a contract due to a mistake they have made, which is what the insurance company threatened to do.
I did see the e-mail and contacted my insurer to point out that we (the insurer and I) had entered into a legally binding contract – and that they could not cancel the policy because they had subsequently discovered a mistake on their part.
They refused to accept this, and confirmed that unless I paid the additional £150 the policy would be cancelled – they also pointed out (as you said) that when obtaining any insurance in future, I would have to declare that I had had an insurance policy cancelled by an insurer.
But had I not read the e-mail from the insurance company advising me that the insurance would be cancelled, I would have been driving with no insurance – there was no guarantee that I would read the e-mail not in my junk folder – given the amount of junk e-mails in my normal folder.
You may say, well it never happened, but I could have been involved in an accident that was my fault, and being uninsured, faced potentially unlimited liability.
To me, the insurer’s actions were totally unacceptable; under contract law one party cannot cancel a contract due to a mistake they have made, which is what the insurance company threatened to do.
//As titled, the question is hypothetical…//
I wasn’t aware the question was hypothetical. You related the facts which included you being stopped and having your vehicle seized.
Contract law is not my forte but I think there are two issues. The first is whether your insurers have the right to cancel your policy in the circumstances you describe. I think if your insurers believe they do have that right and you believe they don’t, the only way to settle the matter would be a complaint to the Financial Ombudsman. The second is, leaving aside whether they have the right to cancel, should they do so in the manner you describe. My answer to that Is that their Ts&Cs probably allow it. But morally, I think that cancellation of a motor insurance can have such serious consequences that they should not.
But as far as the criminal offence goes, unless you can get either (a) the insurer to accept that cover was in place or (b) the Financial Ombudsman to rule that the insurer’s cancellation was not valid, then you would be guilty of driving without insurance. You would then have to either accept a fixed penalty, or have the charge heard by a court who could decide that “Special Reasons” exist.
//that makes no sense, you are now saying you did in fact have insurance?//
Yes because as far as I can gather, Hymie is asking what might have happened in the event that he did not notice the e-mail cancellation.
I wasn’t aware the question was hypothetical. You related the facts which included you being stopped and having your vehicle seized.
Contract law is not my forte but I think there are two issues. The first is whether your insurers have the right to cancel your policy in the circumstances you describe. I think if your insurers believe they do have that right and you believe they don’t, the only way to settle the matter would be a complaint to the Financial Ombudsman. The second is, leaving aside whether they have the right to cancel, should they do so in the manner you describe. My answer to that Is that their Ts&Cs probably allow it. But morally, I think that cancellation of a motor insurance can have such serious consequences that they should not.
But as far as the criminal offence goes, unless you can get either (a) the insurer to accept that cover was in place or (b) the Financial Ombudsman to rule that the insurer’s cancellation was not valid, then you would be guilty of driving without insurance. You would then have to either accept a fixed penalty, or have the charge heard by a court who could decide that “Special Reasons” exist.
//that makes no sense, you are now saying you did in fact have insurance?//
Yes because as far as I can gather, Hymie is asking what might have happened in the event that he did not notice the e-mail cancellation.
Their car policy booklet includes the following,
"Our right to cancel your policy
We have the right to cancel your policy at any time by giving you seven days’ notice in writing where there is a valid reason for doing so. We will send our cancellation notice to the latest contact details we have for you and will set out the reason for cancellation. Valid reasons may include but are not limited to:..." and it then gives various reasons.
Although their quoting the wrong premium is not amongst those reasons, it does make it clear the reason need only be a valid reason.
"Our right to cancel your policy
We have the right to cancel your policy at any time by giving you seven days’ notice in writing where there is a valid reason for doing so. We will send our cancellation notice to the latest contact details we have for you and will set out the reason for cancellation. Valid reasons may include but are not limited to:..." and it then gives various reasons.
Although their quoting the wrong premium is not amongst those reasons, it does make it clear the reason need only be a valid reason.
Possibly a final though in relation to this – if you receive notification from your insurer by post that you insurance will be cancelled in 7 days due to an error the insurer has made – you might like to think if you drove to airport parking for your two week vacation, how would you know that you were still insured to drive away from the airport, not having had access to your post for at least 14 days?
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