Temp cover issue

[omegod]

Tried to add my Scirocco to my existing axa policy as a temp car but as it's over 15 yrs old they told me to piss right off. I only need it insured for a couple of weeks to ensure all is well and get the little gem sold. Is it feasible to try for a classic policy and cancel after a couple of weeks ? Any real life experience of doing this and resultant penalties for cancelling? or other very clever suggestions to get me sorted!   

[Alexg]

Classic insurance will be about £100. I'd do this and cancel. You'll have 2 weeks approx' cooling-off period I believe (check policy small print). There maybe an admin charge, but it'll be far less than 2 weeks temp cover.

[garbaldy]

Or could you not just keep it running and swap it to another classic or six

[KruJoe]

Doesn't need to be a classic policy, just do a Moneysupermarket (or similar) search, choose the cheapest result (or the next one down if it has a cheaper admin fee, do the maths). Pay in full, then on 13th day, ring to cancel, and they will refund in full, minus the admin fee and one-twenty-sixth of the original premium.

 

Eg. Premium is £520 and admin charge (for changing any details) is £15... you pay 520 up front, call to cancel on the last day of your cooling-off, they refund £485, so the whole thing cost you £35 to insure for two weeks. 35 = two weeks' cover + admin fee. Happy days.

[Anthony]

If there's any chance that you're likely to keep it longer than that before selling then I'd think twice about going down the classic policy route as they often have some pretty draconian cancellation policies/charges if you're not going to transferring the policy.

[brownnova]

I tried this once on a Triumph Dolomite....

 

I knew I would only have it a couple we of weeks, I arranged the policy on the train on the way to collect it, and on a bank holiday!! (better planning is advised) And planned to cancel it on day 13 for a nearly full refund.

 

However, be VERY careful of the small print, because on the one I had it said you had to return your policy documents within 14 days or you were charged admin and a percentage of the policy.

 

Thankfully I successfully challenged them because they wanted to charge a stupid amount, but their small print was inconsistent between forms... So they compensated me and refunded the insurance!! Didn't make up for the loss I made on the car!!

 

Are there short term policies for this kind of thing now?

[KruJoe]

There are, but in my experience, they're something daft like £30 per day.

 

One more piece of small print to check when you're buying a normal policy to cancel soon after: Ask if there's any "minimum insured period" on this policy - it may mean you have to pay for a month, rather than two weeks or whatever. Ask that, and the admin charge on the phone, or you'll be there all night trying to find it amongst the reams of pdf t&c's. Bollocks to that!

[Pillock]

There are, but in my experience, they're something daft like £30 per day.

 

One more piece of small print to check when you're buying a normal policy to cancel soon after: Ask if there's any "minimum insured period" on this policy - it may mean you have to pay for a month, rather than two weeks or whatever. Ask that, and the admin charge on the phone, or you'll be there all night trying to find it amongst the reams of pdf t&c's. Bollocks to that!

Unless it's in the fourteen days as covered by distance selling regs, they can't charge you for a minimum covered period but they can charge you 14/365ths of policy price for what you've used

[omegod]

First quote is £103 for the year, £30 deposit then £30 odd a month for the next 3 months, not sure what the sting/admin charge would be if I cancelled on day 13. Temp cover was £85 a day     

[Pillock]

Paying by installments can get a bit iffy, since you'll be paying a finance company that has paid the insurance up front for you.

 

So if you cancel on day 13, it'll be the insurance company that owes you a refund, but you're still paying the finance off. You might be able to pay the finance off with the refund, but there might be interest charges outstanding. 

I'm not sure how distance selling regs deal with that.

[Captain Slow]

Just tried adding a car to my own Axa policy. I was told point blank I can't add temporary cars because I'm under 25.

 

The car I'm trying to add is deemed as a lower insurance risk than the main car... and I turn 25 in July...

[The Moog]

Use diamond.

 

Last two cars I have paid upfront on credit card.

 

Cancelled within 2 weeks and cost only £25. No hassle at all.

 

If you do finance option I am not sure how it works.

[JayW]

DO NOT be tempted to use Lancaster Classics! Even though they are often the cheapest.

 

Their cancellation fees will conveniently equate to the exact cost of the total annual premium.

 

Spoken from experience.

[KruJoe]

Paying by installments can get a bit iffy, since you'll be paying a finance company 

 

Yep, the finance will likely want their full swag-bag of profit anyway. It's a bloody mine-field. That's why I said pay up front, and get the refund two weeks on.

If you use a credit card on these cheap policies, they often charge 2.5% more than a debit card, and I doubt you'd get that extra back with a refund.