insurance cooling off period or short term cover?

[dieselnutjob]

If I need to insure my (or SWMBOs) new car for a couple of weeks and still drive the old one.

After two weeks we can probably put it on the account from the old car and SORN it if hasn't sold.

 

Is the two week cooling off period a good way to achieve this?  or is it better to just get temp cover? from where?

[Bear]

Ask if your broker/provider can do a temporary additional vehicle for you. Most sensible way of doing it if they do.

[omegod]

They all charge a whopping admin fee if you cancel in the cooling period

[Pillock]

They can't.

If you buy something online, you have 14 days to change your mind - assuming the goods or services haven't been used. So don't smash your car up, claim and then expect money back but you can use the Consumer Contracts Regulations (previously Distance Selling) to cancel any service you've not used in that time.

Because the cover started on day 1 and not day 15, the most they can charge you is 14/365ths of the policy amount.

[bigfella2]

If your insurer is one of those where you can do everything online, you won't get charged an administration fee, cos its usually the administration fee that bumps up price. I had to do the same fairly recently.

[New POD]

They can't.

If you buy something online, you have 14 days to change your mind - assuming the goods or services haven't been used. So don't smash your car up,

 

That's the risk.

 

If you have to claim, you have to pay the full year. It'll be in the T&C's

[colino]

You have used the insurance, even if it hasn't been bashed, crashed or nicked.  The cover was in place.

I suspect the admin. fee and t&cs will make the possibility of this being a cheap and doable way of doing things as having a conversation with a parking meter to get a refund on the 10 minutes of parking you haven't used on your ticket. 

[Eddie Honda]

Have had a quick look at just two insurer's T&Cs....
 

Aviva:
Your cancellation rights
The principal policyholder has a statutory right to cancel this policy within 14 days from the day of purchase or renewal of the contract or the day on which the principal policyholder receives the policy or renewal documentation, whichever is the later.

If the principal policyholder wishes to cancel and the insurance cover has not yet commenced, the principal policyholder will be entitled to a full refund of the premium paid.

Alternatively, if the principal policyholder wishes to cancel and the insurance cover has already commenced, the principal policyholder will be entitled to a refund of the premium paid, less a proportionate deduction for the time we have provided cover. There will also be an additional charge of £38.00 (plus Insurance Premium Tax, where applicable) to cover the administrative cost of providing the policy.

To cancel, please contact Aviva on 0844 891 1505.

If the principal policyholder does not exercise the right to cancel the policy, it will continue in force and the principal policyholder will be required to pay the premium.

For your cancellation rights outside the statutory cooling off period, please refer to the General Conditions section of this policy booklet.

The principal policyholder must return/surrender all valid certificates of motor insurance immediately following cancellation. It is the principal policyholder’s responsibility to notify all persons insured that this policy has been cancelled.

Cancellation within the first 14 days has to be a proportional refund of the used days of the policy LESS an admin fee.

In the case of Aviva, that fee is £38.00 + IPT (which is now 9.5%) = £41.61.

e.g. £500 premium (including IPT) cancelled at 14 days

Premium net of IPT = £456.62
14 days pro-rata (14/365ths): £17.51
Admin fee: £38.00
Cost: £38.00 + 17.51 = £55.51, then add IPT @9.5% = £60.79
Premium Refund: £500 less £60.79 = £439.21

 

AXA:
Quite possibly, depending on how you pay for your car insurance and how long it’s been after you bought your policy.

We will not refund any premium if there has been a claim on your policy. Refunds will be credited to the payment method you provided and can take up to 14 days to be processed.

Cancellations within 14 days (the cooling off period)
If you cancel your policy within 14 days of receiving your policy documents in your online account, it will be as if the policy has never been in force. We reserve the right to charge a £25 administration fee – you will receive a refund of what you have paid minus this amount and any credit card transaction fees.

Cancellations after 14 days
If a policy is cancelled after this 14 day period, you may also be entitled to a refund. This is subject to a pro-rata deduction based on the time you have been on cover, any credit card transaction fees and a £52.50 cancellation fee.

These calculations are based on the annual premium being paid on a single lump sum basis. Customers who pay by monthly instalments may not be entitled to a refund and may instead be required to pay an extra premium to include the time they have been covered and the £52.50 cancellation fee.

Upon cancellation, you will need to declare that you will destroy all copies of the Certificate of Motor Insurance relating to your policy (whether held in paper, electronic, digital or any other format) within seven days, in accordance with the Road Traffic Act 1988.

Please note: From 2011, continuous car insurance is a legal requirement.
Find out about Continuous Insurance Enforcement

Please remember to keep all your details up to date because your cover could be affected if anything isn’t correct.

So read the small print. In short there is one set of rules for cancellation during the cooling off period (14 days) and another set of rules for cancellation after the cooling off period.

 

They probably* keep tabs on these cancellations in a big black book (CUE) and roger anyone who takes the piss.

[stripped fred]

I've got the same problem in that i could do with insuring the peugeot i just bought while i sell my alfa instead of leaving it parked up.  I am with 1st Central who are a bit rubbish.  I've realised they make up for a lowish premium by clawing it back through high admin fees.  When i rang them in the past to cover an additional car they said they wouldn't do it.  Do other companies cover additional cars?  I'm thinking along the lines of multi-car policies such as Direct Line and Aviva as i want to be able to change cars easier in future and maybe have some overlap.

[dieselnutjob]

They only charged me 30 quid to insure a second car for two weeks so I went with that.  Then they killed me on swapping to the new vehicle, but they always do that don't they....