Karen is the policyholder on the car insurance whilst I am a named driver. After her stroke, I told DVLA and they asked her to send back her licence, which I duly did. Not a problem so far.
I told our insurance company who emailed me to say how sad they were to hear etc, but that somebody would call me within 3 working days to discuss what options we/I had.
They didn’t call, but sent me an email this morning telling me that at MY request, they had cancelled our car insurance… which was news to me because I hadn’t requested anything like it. But I guess that’s how the system works.
So I have now put the car under SORN because we can’t do anything else at the moment, but am really struggling to find any ‘SORN’ insurance, and can’t help but feel that our current insurers would have been better off ringing me (as they said they would), putting me as the policyholder, and changing the policy to 3rd party, fire and theft…which would cover the car anyway. It just seems one more hassle I really could do without.
Anyone faced a similar problem, or can recommend a decent insurer who actually does what they say they will do??
Yes, you are probably right re the expense. Thank you. Unfortunately it appears that Anna isn’t accepting messages at the moment so there’s not much I can do there.
You could speak with our Stroke Support Helpline:0303 3033 100 they may be able to offer guidance on this. It might also be worth a call to your original insurers to let them know you never actually requested to cancel and ask what your options are.
Also, if you ever need me, just tag me into a post and I’ll respond
Thankfully I haven’t leapt anywhere… or is it leaped? The car is SORN and I have a week to sort out any insurance. I will see what I can find out. Thanks again
Thank you. Being autistic, my kryptonite is definitely phone calls. I have emailed the current insurers and asked them about the wording, pointing out that I never asked/we never asked for the policy to be cancelled. I assume that is their policy in these circumstances, but having promised to ring me to discuss options, as much as I loathe phone calls, it’s a little frustrating that they’ve not followed through.
Hello@ 2 Weevils,
I am sorry to hear of your insurance difficulties. The issue is English Law of Contract. Without going into too much legalese, the insurance contract was between the insurance company and your late wife (you did say she was the policyholder and you were a named driver). Death of one party to a contract usually automatically vitiates (cancels) a contract. so when the car insurer hears of the death of a policyholder they regard the policy as cancelled, this makes the insurance of a named driver void, so from the moment of a policyholder’s death, the insurance is void for a named driver. The insurance company let you down in not phoning you back with options and that was disgraceful, as it meant that if you drove her car at all, YOU WERE DRIVING WITHOUT INSURANCE!!! a criminal offence. Even though you were a named driver;but you were a named driver of a non-existent insurance! The insurance company should have offered to transfer the policy into your name but then you’d have been treated as a new policyholder and the insurance premium would have been calculated on YOUR details, i.e. AGE, accident record,convictions,postcode (not all married couples actually live together!),etc., etc. so the new premium could be VERY different, depending on circumstances (and it is possible they may not have wanted to insure YOU at all). By the way, did the insurer send you a refund of premium from when the policy was cancelled? They should have done!
I have been retired too long to be of any help in recommending alternate insurers but I would begin with your original insurer and if not satisfied, try one of the comparison sites.
If there are any other questions you think I may be able to help you with, please feel free to contact me.
As a retired General Manager of an insurance company, I would hope your insurer would have the decency to transfer some/all of any No Claims Discount you had earned to yourself but they are not legally obliged to do so, and they should also apologise for having failed to phone you back. Bearing in mind that their failure to do so could have led to a "driving without insurance " conviction had you driven through a n ANPR camera site!
Best of luck,
Bob Isle.
PS This issue should be publicised by Stroke Association as it could affect thousands of people! I do not mind being quoted but I am not up to date with current practices, so I do not mind being corrected either !
Thank you for your interest. My wife is very much alive, I’m pleased to say, but the insurance has been cancelled, with effect 21/07/2026.
They say that’s at my request, but obviously I haven’t requested that, they’ve just done it off their own back as a result of her giving up her licence post stroke. They did say they would ring me to discuss options, but have chosen to email me instead with the news. They say, in their email. that I am not entitled to any refund of premium despite the insurance not ceasing until 21st December if it had run its course.
Of course, if they had rung, we might have been able to discuss the transfer of a policy to myself or setting up a new one for 3rd party, fire and theft given that the car is now under a SORN, and that is the only insurance I need now, until we know for certain what the future brings and whether Karen will recover sufficiently to drive it again.
I did not expect them to transfer any non-claims to me, but it would have been nice if they had. Alas, they appear to have done nothing they promised to do, but everything I didn’t expect them to do.
Can’t advise on the car insurance but can clarify that British English tends to favour the older suffixes of p+t, whereas American English tends to opt for the modern e+d ending. Both are standard usage.
Hello Patrick,
Oh dear; I AM SO SORRY. I completely misunderstood the situation and I am glad your wife is still with you.Please accept my sincere apologies.
Now, back to your insurance issues; much of what I said earlier still stands, but I do not understand why your insurer unilaterally cancelled your policy; I suspect the answer
lies in exactly what was said in the telephone call. If Karen was unable to drive for medical reasons that they could not cover, well I guess that’s up to them, but it was a bit mean (actually, quite naughty)to cancel without properly discussing it with you first
But on to SORN:It is 30 years since I retired (so things may have changed) but in my day when a car was taken off the road for any reason, it could be treated as “laid up” and cover reduced to Fire and Theft risks only (provided the car was parked in a garage and not taken on the road) so Third Party liability cover was not required and a nominal premium charged for F&T risks only.. Why did they choose to cancel your cover from 21st. July 2026 specifically?Who was the MAIN driver of the car - you or Karen? That could be significant if it comes to reinstating the policy.It’s all a bit complex given your problems with telephone conversations and I wish you the best of luck
Apologies once again for my misunderstanding about Karen, and I wish you both all the best for the future. Let me know if there is anything else you need to know.
Regards,
Bob Isle.
It’s fine. Cancelling the insurance from the 21st seems a bit random, but I suppose they’re giving me a week in which to sell or do something with the car.
Karen was the main driver, I was just named, but even so, they had permission to speak with me about the insurance and certainly should have forewarned me by ringing me as promised, not hidden behind an email and given no opportunity to ask what was happening. And they should be refunding a portion of my fee which I now won’t use.
I think insurance companies also provide insurance to the legal owner / registered keeper and if this is Karen it can get complicated. Hopefully you will get somewhere with your current insurer but if not try online comparison sites. Outstanding finance on a car may also be an issue as if you are still paying for it I think you have to have a higher level of cover.
