I recently only 2 days ago received my car insurance renewal and it has gone up by nearly £100 despite not having any claims and its the same car, I only got round to looking at it yesterday and started to look at other companies for quotes which came in much cheaper, So tonight I went to cancel or see if they could do better their renewal price on my existing price but they were shut and are only open Mon to Fri from 8am until 6pm.

The problem I have is my insurance will "auto renew" at midnight Sunday and I cant phone or make any contact with them until Monday to say I don't wish to continue, However reading their terms on the monthly direct debit form they state that I have the right to cancel within 14 days of "receiving" my renewal but there will be an admin fee of £15 to be paid but if the policy has started (as it will have) then if I can cancel all cover will cease but I will still need to pay the full premium amount plus the £15 admin fee.

My annoyance is that I only received the documents on "Wednesday" which was two days ago and feel I haven't been given enough time but the documents are dated 13th May. How would I go on saying that I only received the renewal docs on Wednesday 5th June when the date on their letter states the 13th May.

I think I am forced to renew with this company as my insurance will have Auto re-started on Monday and I cant make any contact with them until then, Even their claim number is closed all weekend!.

The insurance company by the way is Corn hill Direct which is part of the Allianze group, I cant understand why I only got their renewal on Wednesday despite their letters being dates 13th May.

Any pointers would be great, Thank you.

I cant understand why I only got their renewal on Wednesday despite their letters being dates 13th May.

So you don't have as much opportunity to ring round and cancel their new exorbitant policy, they didn't post the renewal out until Tuesday but dated the letter 3 weeks earlier so you wouldn't have a leg to stand on and they can blame the post office. simples.

Just stop the direct debit they carn't renew if they carn't take any money,

Then phone them on monday and tell them you don't wish to renew and have take cover elsewhere

1. Cancel your direct debit. They cannot take any money from your account if it's cancelled, if they do (which they can't, but just in case) do an indemnity claim with the bank. Either way you MUST ring them first thing Monday and confirm you wish to "lapse" your policy at renewal, otherwise they may still try and chase you for the payment.

2. I work in insurance (I know, boo hiss) we HAVE to send a renewal letter at least 17 days before a policies renewal date regardless of whether we have spoken to you or not.

3. Make sure your new policy starts from when the other expires. If they try to charge you for "cancelling" your policy after auto-renewal you can send them a copy of your new documents to confirm you already went elsewhere. Even if it's a day late they can charge you for time on cover and therefore a cancellation fee.

^^^ what she said...

If the renewal is Sunday then the DD will have already been processed and just waiting to hit the account and nothing will stop the money coming out. Why did you not deal with it last week, it would have saved all this hassle.

If the renewal is Sunday then the DD will have already been processed and just waiting to hit the account and nothing will stop the money coming out. Why did you not deal with it last week, it would have saved all this hassle.

Mannyo OP already said he didn't get his documents until a couple of days ago. Not everyone remembers when their insurance is due. If it does come out he can just do an indemnity claim. Chill!

Thanks for the help Mannyo - I didn't get the docs until Wednesday and have been busy more than usual but know what you mean about saving a bit of hassle. I opened the renewal then thought I would search for a better deal the next day by the time I decided to phone my insurance company on Friday they were shut and don't re-open until Monday.

If I cant cancel for the better deal then I suppose I will just have to stay with them but will certainly be on the ball for next year. I will have lost my bargaining chip also as I wanted them to try and reduce their renewal price but since it would of auto renewed at Midnight this Sunday that's probably gone for a burden too.

I will keep you posted, Thanks again.

I suggest you give them a call today. Your 14 day cooling off period starts 'from the day of the conclusion of the contract'. In our world, that's the renewal date itself. Here's the text direct from the FCA Handbook. It's ICOBS 7.1.5R (ignore the bit about pure protection contracts as we're talking about a general insurance contract):

The cancellation period begins either:

(1) from the day of the conclusion of the contract, except in respect of a pure protection contract where the time limit begins when the customer is informed that the contract has been concluded; or

(2) from the day on which the consumer receives the contractual terms and conditions and any other pre-contractual information required under this sourcebook, if that is later than the date referred to above.

Edited 10 June, 201313 yr by ChrisKnottIns

As above, distance selling regulations are probably your friend

So how did it end?