Insurance automatic renewal is a con

[LemonTwist]

I think that auto-renewing policies is important, especially for compulsory insurance cover such as motor insurance. Otherwise a customer might forget to renew their policy and then find they're not covered.

 

As long as the documents are sent out 3 weeks in advance of the renewal date, I don't see a problem with it.

[LemonTwist]

Orwell72, did you buy insurance from another company to start from your renewal date? If you didn't realise the existing policy was going to auto-renew, are you dual-insured?

[LemonTwist]

I don't think there's anything sneaky about it - where I work the renewal documents state on the front page in large text "Your policy will auto-renew. If you want your cover to continue, you don't need to do anything", or words to that effect. It's not hidden in the small-print.

 

However, I think it would be a good idea if the auto-renewal was pointed out to customers when they first take out a policy, so that they are aware of this practice.

[LemonTwist]

I pay annually by credit card and invariably involves auto-renewal. I scout round for quotes every year, which usually means re-insuring with a different company. So when I send the notice of NCD to the new company, I also enclose a letter stating that I will not be renewing cover in 12 months time.

 

Has worked every time except once, with Quinn, who denied they had received the required notice and wanted a cancellation fee. When I told them that if they had received the NCD confirmation then they had also had the required notice, the letter magically appeared on their system.

 

Just out of interest, if one year you were with a particular insurer and you were really happy with the customer service you had received from them, would you be willing to renew with them?

Have all the insurers you've used really been so hopeless/expensive that you wouldn't want to stay with them for more than a year? :grin: