As the country faces a lockdown situation due to the Coronavirus outbreak, you may find yourself with either no current use for your vehicle or you may live in a household with multiple cars and no requirement for all of them. If you are considering cancelling your car insurance, then there are a few things to consider.

If you lease the vehicle, the company you lease the car from would expect you to keep the vehicle insured as part of your lease agreement. Therefore, you would need authorisation from the lease company before you could cancel any insurance on the vehicle.

If you are the registered owner of the vehicle, then it is your responsibility to keep the vehicle insured.

However, even where you own the vehicle, you will need to think about where the vehicle is parked and what you intend to do with the vehicle before you can cancel your insurance

It is the law that you must have at least third-party insurance cover to drive a vehicle or to have your vehicle parked on the public highway in the UK

Therefore, if you intend to continue driving your vehicle, even if it is just for a weekly trip to the shop you will need insurance cover otherwise you would be in direct contravention of the Road Traffic Act

If you do not intend to drive the vehicle, but the vehicle will be parked on the public highway you will need to maintain some insurance cover otherwise you would be in direct contravention of the Road Traffic Act.

If you do not intend to drive the vehicle and the vehicle will be parked on your drive, in your garage or on other private property you could consider cancelling your insurance however without insurance it will not be covered against fire, theft or other damage unless agreed with your insurer

Can I declare the car SORN

You don’t need to pay tax or insurance on your car if you aren’t using it, provided you keep it off the road. However, will need to officially declare your car as unused by taking out a Statutory Off Road Notification (SORN) in order to avoid fines or even prosecution for unpaid tax or having an uninsured vehicle, it is not enough to simply leave it in a garage.

Have you made a claim?

You can still cancel your policy if you have made a claim.

However, you won’t automatically be eligible for a refund, this will vary by insurer and whether the claim was a fault or non-fault claim.  If you paid in full, you might qualify for a refund, but if you were paying on an instalment plan, you would need to continue paying these or clear the balance outstanding.

What happened to my no claims bonus discount if I cancel my insurance?

If you were to cancel your insurance policy mid-term, then you will not earn your years a No Claims Bonus discount for that policy for that period as the term has not been completed. However, any No Claims Bonus you had when you took out the policy would be transferable to a new policy and be valid for up to two years.

Will I be able to take a payment holiday?

Currently, this is not available, but we are working with our panel of insurers to update our policies continually.  If you are experiencing payment difficulties, please contact us All Sport Insurance immediately.

The team at All Sport Insurance understand that these challenging times may be difficult for our customers and are working hard with our panel of insurers to create solutions where possible.

If you have a question regarding your policy or would like to arrange a new policy following a cancellation, please contact us on 01803 659121 or email enquiries@allsportinsurance.co.uk