unsure whether to declare a car insurance policy as cancelled

[sandwood]

Hi,

 

I passed my driving test last year

and went down the route of the examiner taking my provisional license to send to the DVLA in order to obtain the full one.

 

According to everything i read and was informed about, the full license would arrive inside three weeks.

 

one week in and in my excitement, i bought a car and via a comparison site arranged insurance.

I had explained i did not at that time have the full license to send them, just passed etc

and was told this would be OK as it should arrive before they would cancel anything,

and to mail them the license when i got it.

 

What i had failed to factor in was that my old provisional was valid but within the time frame that DVLA would require a newer photo.

(they did not inform me of this until 4 weeks after i passed my test),

so i had to fill in some forms and send them away,

effectively triggering a new three week waiting period.

 

This was to long for the insurance i had been offered and they cancelled it. (i was dealing with Autonet btw).

They did however understand my situation and arranged a newer insurance with a different company

(more expensive but hey ho) and i finally received my full license, sent them the documents and all was good.

 

Now that my insurance is up for renewal (no points, fines, claims or anything - i have been a very careful new driver )

i am unsure if that first policy is something i have to declare to potential new providers?

How serious a mistake was it on my part to go for a car before i had the paperwork in hand?

 

thanks in advance

[unclebulgaria67]

I would not declare in the situation that you have explained. It was an administration error on your part and you worked with the Insurance provider to sort this out. i.e one policy was cancelled and another arranged with them.

 

If this was ever picked up by another company in the future ( which I doubt), then it would be looked into and they would find out there was no big issue. If you want to have a bit more security, then ask Autonet for a letter explaining that one policy was cancelled due to an oversight with the driving licence and another policy was arranged. Then keep a copy of the letter, just in case this issue is ever raised.

 

The trouble with declaring a cancellation in your situation, is that this disclosure does not have a time limit and you will find yourself declaring it each time. You will find that Insurers will refuse to quote, even if there is an explanation. You would therefore be limiting the market for your Insurance and end up paying more for Insurance, due to an admin error on your part.

 

I take a commonsense approach to this. If you failed to disclose information which you were aware of or gave false information knowingly, then any cancellation that happens would be your fault, so should be declared. If on the other hand you had passed your test and were in the process of converting provisional to full license, then you just made a mistake in not making sure you had the full licence in your hands before applying for Insurance. I don't think you should have to declare this for the rest of your life and potentially be subject to increased premiums as a result.

 

This is a big topic of discussion in Insurance forums and you will get people telling you that you must declare. Some see it as a black and white issue, that any cancellation has to be declared, even if there is an explanation. I have given my view on this and you may get other opinions. If you are worried about this, then speak to Autonet about it and see if they will provide a letter.