Optional extras
The features included in an insurance policy may vary per insurer. If you want or need certain features, you may have to buy it as an optional extra. Check with your insurance broker to ensure you have all the features you want. Optional
extras include:
- Breakdown cover
- Courtesy car
- Replacement key cover
- Legal protection
- Driving abroad
- Personal accident cover
Read your policy carefully to see exactly what it covers. If you want any optional extras, you will be able to add these on to the policy.
Insurance cooling-off period
Legally, insurance companies must offer a minimum of 14-days in which customers are able to cancel their policies if they change their mind. This cooling-off period either starts from when the cover begins or when documents are received, whichever is later.
Some insurers do still apply an administration fee if you decide to cancel your cover within the cooling-off period. However, this fee is usually significantly less than if you were to cancel your insurance policy after 14-days. Some insurers also offer a longer cooling-off fee. If you’re unsure, it’s always worth checking your policy or asking your insurance broker how long your cooling-off period lasts for.
Insurance validation process
When taking out your insurance, you may have to have the policy validated. This is a simple process, and just means that you’ll need to give your insurance provider evidence of the information you gave as part of the quote process. This evidence is usually a driving license or no-claims discount evidence from your previous insurance provider.
Sometimes, dishonest applicants provide false information which can lead to everybody’s premiums with that insurer becoming higher. Insurance validation is done to protect honest applicants and prevent this scenario from happening. It is also done to ensure that any genuine mistakes are cleared up while keeping those customers protected.
Mid-term cancellations
You can cancel your vehicle insurance mid-way through your policy, even if you have paid up-front. The first step is to tell your insurer or insurance broker that you would like to cancel. They are then likely to work out how much of a refund you are due – this depends on how many days you’ve been insured for, their company policy on cancellations, and their cancellation fee.
If you pay your insurance monthly, simply cancelling your direct debit does not mean that you have cancelled your policy, and your insurer will still need to collect any unpaid premiums and associated fees. It’s important to contact your provider and get confirmation in writing. Cancelling won’t mean the end of your payments; as well as the cancellation fee, your provider may also charge a percentage of the total policy price.
Mid-term adjustments
If your personal situation changes in any way that may affect your insurance premium, you will need to make a mid-term adjustment. For example, a mid-term adjustment is necessary if you’d like to add a named driver to car insurance or if you’ve moved to a new house.
A mid-term adjustment doesn’t necessarily mean that your premium will increase - it may decrease if your new situation is more favourable! However, insurers usually charge an administration fee for such changes. It’s also very important that you make these mid-term adjustments to your policy when your circumstances change because if you need to make a claim and haven’t informed your insurer about them, it may impact the ability to claim the money needed.
You can make a mid-term adjustment by calling your insurer or insurance broker, or some companies provide an online service where you can make changes to your policy.
Renewing your insurance
Most insurance policies only cover you for a year, although you can get vehicle insurance for as little as seven days. When an annual insurance policy is coming up for renewal, you should expect to get a ‘renewal pack’ around 2-3 weeks before your policy is due to expire. This pack provides you with a new price with your current insurer, plus all relevant policy information. We also recommend setting a personal reminder too in case you miss it – sometimes emailed renewal packs may go into junk mail. This is important, as you will not be insured on your vehicle after the expiry date if you haven’t found a new policy.
Some policies may automatically renew if you have opted in – this term is known as “auto-renew” and is available at the point of purchase. Your policy documents will tell you if you have opted into auto-renew. You can opt out of auto-renewal at any point, usually by calling your provider.
If you’ve opted into auto-renewal but your details have changed, it’s important to let your insurer know, as your policy may not meet your current requirements anymore. This includes whether you’ve changed address, jobs, or want to alter who else can drive the car. Look at your current policy and if you notice that something is no longer correct or isn’t necessary, tell your provider.
It’s likely that even if you haven’t claimed, the price of your insurance policy will rise each time it’s renewed. This is due to a mixture of things, ranging from the varying costs of raw materials to make a car, to increases in claims of vandalism or vehicle theft in your postcode. These factors may result in policies being more expensive. You may be able to negotiate a lower fee than the one proposed, but this is down to the insurance company’s discretion and isn’t guaranteed.
NOTE – if you have documents that are due to expire during your policy (including any renewed policies), such as driving licenses, payment cards, passports etc., it’s important that you tell your provider when you update them. You may incur a charge if any information expires while your policy is active, so keeping your document details punctually up to date is important.
