We’re encouraged to shop around for insurance and not to stay loyal to the same company. However, if you have insurance it will probably automatically renew unless you opt out. Find out what you can do if this has happened.
Insurance auto-renewal – what is it?
Auto-renewal means that your insurance policy is automatically renewed at the end of the 12-month contract. If you don’t want to renew your insurance contract with your existing insurer, you have to contact them and let them know.
Auto-renewal used to be confined to car insurance, but these days insurers use it for policies such as pet insurance, home insurance and even car breakdown recovery.
Although the process of automatically renewing insurance was designed to retain customers, there was some logic behind car insurance being automatically renewed. That’s because it’s illegal to drive a car without insurance. However, it’s not illegal to have home contents or a pet that’s not insured, although if you have a mortgage, you must have building insurance.
Insurance auto-renewal – is it legal?
It is legal for an insurance company to automatically renew your insurance policy but only if they have told you that they will do this. Some insurance companies give you the option of ticking a box to say that you would like the insurance to renew automatically.
Others have a policy of automatically renewing insurance. If they do have this policy, the insurance company must tell you clearly that this is what they’re going to do. They can’t just bury this in the terms and conditions.
The insurance company must also contact you 30 days before your insurance is due to end and tell you that they will renew the contract unless you tell them not to. If you don’t receive this notification, you should be able to cancel your insurance without paying a charge.
How common is insurance auto-renewal?
Contact your insurer and say you want to cancel. Insurers generally charge a cancellation fee, but you shouldn’t have to pay this if you weren’t told about the auto-renewal clause.
If you’re charged a cancellation fee and the insurer won’t refund it, you should complain to them by letter or email.
If they still won’t refund money you’ve paid, complain to the Financial Ombudsman Service here. You can do this free of charge. They can investigate your complaint and, if they agree with you, may state that the insurer should refund you and/or pay (limited) compensation.
If your insurance renewal is coming up soon, you can compare car insurance quotes or home insurance quotes today to see if you can find a more competitive quote than the one your current provider is offering. If your insurance isn’t up for renewal just yet, let us know your renewal month here and we can send you a reminder nearer the time. For a limited time, if you buy your car insurance policy via Rest Less, you’ll receive a free £20 Amazon voucher*. Terms and conditions apply.
Do you automatically renew your insurance every year or do you always shop around to see if you could do better elsewhere? We’d be interested in hearing from you. You can join the money conversation on the Rest Less community or leave a comment below.
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