Temporary car insurance?

pog it

Hey all.
Just a question about renewing car insurance. I asked my current insurer if I could extend my policy by one more month before it is due to expire and they said they can't do that. It's the normal 12 month policy. They said I have to sign up for another 12 month policy.

In about 4 weeks I will be out of the country for 6 months at least and am already paying tax on the car for that time and don't want to add to the expense and pay insurance with it sitting in the drive.

What is the cheapest way for me to sort out car insurance for the next month?
If I pay a deposit and sign up to pay in monthly instalments, what do I lose if I cancel my policy a month in?
Would I lose the entire deposit or just the month and a cancellation fee?

pog it

bump

biko

Depends, you can sign up with a new company pay by installments and cancel after one month. Check with various companies if any of them is ok with installments and no deposit.

coylemj

biko wrote: »

Depends, you can sign up with a new company pay by installments and cancel after one month. Check with various companies if any of them is ok with installments and no deposit.

It's not that simple. Sometimes when you arrange to pay by instalments, you're actually taking out a loan with a third party financial institution who pay the insurance company the lump sum premium. If you attempt to cancel the policy and stop making payments, you may find that your credit record takes a hit because you've walked away from a loan.

Most of the insurance companies document in the policy document what rebate they will give for an early cancellation.

Axa for example will hammer you if it's in the first year of the policy but for second and subsequent years this is the procedure....

In the second and any future years, once you return the certificate and disc of insurance and you have not claimed or there is no incident that is likely to result in a claim during the current period of insurance, we will return the premium after an administration fee has been taken away for the period of insurance still left to run. The premium does not include the charge for motor rescue or the premium for injury to driver cover and we will not provide a refund for these optional items when you cancel your policy.

pog it

Thanks to both of you for your replies.
I've had a look around and seems temporary cover is available in the UK. Would it be possible for me to insure with one of these?

Henry Ford III

pog it wrote: »

Thanks to both of you for your replies.
I've had a look around and seems temporary cover is available in the UK. Would it be possible for me to insure with one of these?

I doubt it.

Temp. cover could be offered here but it would be expensive I'd imagine. How much would anyone pay for it?

pog it

Yep, I've tried on a few sites and they are looking for UK registered car.

I've just found an old thread mentioning instant cover from Quinn whereby you get your quote online and sign up for direct debit and you get 7 days to return documentation. If you cancel before that 7 days you just pay for 7 days and there is meant to be a small cancellation fee.
Have to verify that though.

Don't know if I will go down that route as it's a bit messy.

Could be better off limiting myself to public transport..

bazz26

Quinn Insurance are gone. :pac:

pog it

bazz26 wrote: »

Quinn Insurance are gone. :pac:

yeah yeah yeah (you got in before i had time to change it to Liberty)

Anyway looks like they have a different system to what Quinn had. Still have instant cover but they have different terms and conditions and looks like unless I pay upfront in full, getting a refund if I cancel early could be dodgy.

biko

I was with AIG for a moth or so but when I upgraded car they tried to increase my premium by a ton so I got a better quote somewhere else and moved over.
Ended up paying AIG about a month's worth of insurance, the rest was refunded.

pog it

biko wrote: »

I was with AIG for a moth or so but when I upgraded car they tried to increase my premium by a tin so I got a better quote somewhere else and moved over.
Ended up paying AIG about a month's worth of insurance, the rest was refunded.

Had you paid in full with AIG biko?

slimjimmc

OP, ask your insurer if they will suspend your policy until you return.

When you sign up to a policy you enter a contract which binds you to make repayments as agreed. Defaulting on those payment will result in the policy being terminated by the insurer which might not reflect well on you the next time you go looking for cover, i.e. you may be declined the facility to pay monthly the next time around.

You should bear in mind that if your policy is terminated or suspended you will not be insured against fire or theft and you can not legally park in a public place.

biko

pog it wrote: »

Had you paid in full with AIG biko?

Yeah, I usually pay a full year up front to get discounts.