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Car insurance cancelled. What to do next?

I had a black box insurance policy and went 50% over the speed limit; the next day I received a call to notify me that my insurance was to be cancelled. I am 18, held my licence 8 months, and I live in a high risk postcode. I'm ****ed.

Obviously my main goal is to get back on the road asap, but despite the various options that I've thought about, nothing seems like a good idea lol.

1. Declare cancellation, pay (reasonably?????) higher rate, get 100% legit cover and get on with life. Unfortunately this is impossible. Declaring my cancellation returns me 0 results on any comparison website, and even the (very limited range of) specialist cancelled policyholder insurance providers will not give me a quote due to my age. I'm willing to pay up to £3,000 this year for insurance.

2. Don't declare cancellation, pay 'normal' rate, get non-legit cover. The penalties for being caught deliberately not disclosing a cancellation are baddd - fine, points and insurance void from inception are the minimum penalties. The only reason i listed this is because so many people have encouraged me to do so - as if its my only option - and to be honest, if i knew for certain that I could definitely get away with it, i would most likely do it.

Whilst I was on the phone to an insurer (premium insurer for celebrities, and luxury performance cars) the guy on the phone literally told me to just not disclose my cancellation with another insurer - he even told me that there is no database for cancelled policies, and that an insurer can not check for them (which seems very unlikely, as insurers seem to be able to check everything - but then again, no where explicitly states that cancellations are recorded on the MIB or CUE, unless a different database holds this information instead).

Also, my older brother got his first policy cancelled too (he got played hardd by his insurer - but that's a story for another time), and he took out insurance without declaring the cancellation - and somehow didn't get caught throughout the duration of the policy (he declares his cancellation these days, as he has a ncb to counteract it)

When I went to get a new car, the salesman said that I should not declare anything (he said he did the same), and my boss also told me that he doesn't declare any of his points (9!!), or his 2 previous driving bans (Which i thought were recorded stricter than cancellations).

As you can see, the personal anecdotes that people have shared with me are the opposite from what you'd expect with the information that insurers, and the internet, tell you - and this tempts me the most.

3. Get a motorbike - it's summer, they're a lot cheaper, and they can be fun (I actually used to own a moped, however it got stolen without theft insurance). Setting aside the different pros and cons of driving a car, or riding a scooter, I would still have to declare my cancellation, and I have no idea how much this effects bike insurance (hopefully not as much as car insurance!!).

What would you do in my situation? Please no comments about it being my own fault, or deserving it. Thanks. Also sorry for poor formatting and structure, i'm very very tired.
Reply 1
Original post by OnePrettyFlyGuy
I had a black box insurance policy and went 50% over the speed limit; the next day I received a call to notify me that my insurance was to be cancelled. I am 18, held my licence 8 months, and I live in a high risk postcode. I'm ****ed.

Obviously my main goal is to get back on the road asap, but despite the various options that I've thought about, nothing seems like a good idea lol.

1. Declare cancellation, pay (reasonably?????) higher rate, get 100% legit cover and get on with life. Unfortunately this is impossible. Declaring my cancellation returns me 0 results on any comparison website, and even the (very limited range of) specialist cancelled policyholder insurance providers will not give me a quote due to my age. I'm willing to pay up to £3,000 this year for insurance.

2. Don't declare cancellation, pay 'normal' rate, get non-legit cover. The penalties for being caught deliberately not disclosing a cancellation are baddd - fine, points and insurance void from inception are the minimum penalties. The only reason i listed this is because so many people have encouraged me to do so - as if its my only option - and to be honest, if i knew for certain that I could definitely get away with it, i would most likely do it.

Whilst I was on the phone to an insurer (premium insurer for celebrities, and luxury performance cars) the guy on the phone literally told me to just not disclose my cancellation with another insurer - he even told me that there is no database for cancelled policies, and that an insurer can not check for them (which seems very unlikely, as insurers seem to be able to check everything - but then again, no where explicitly states that cancellations are recorded on the MIB or CUE, unless a different database holds this information instead).

Also, my older brother got his first policy cancelled too (he got played hardd by his insurer - but that's a story for another time), and he took out insurance without declaring the cancellation - and somehow didn't get caught throughout the duration of the policy (he declares his cancellation these days, as he has a ncb to counteract it)

When I went to get a new car, the salesman said that I should not declare anything (he said he did the same), and my boss also told me that he doesn't declare any of his points (9!!), or his 2 previous driving bans (Which i thought were recorded stricter than cancellations).

As you can see, the personal anecdotes that people have shared with me are the opposite from what you'd expect with the information that insurers, and the internet, tell you - and this tempts me the most.

3. Get a motorbike - it's summer, they're a lot cheaper, and they can be fun (I actually used to own a moped, however it got stolen without theft insurance). Setting aside the different pros and cons of driving a car, or riding a scooter, I would still have to declare my cancellation, and I have no idea how much this effects bike insurance (hopefully not as much as car insurance!!).

What would you do in my situation? Please no comments about it being my own fault, or deserving it. Thanks. Also sorry for poor formatting and structure, i'm very very tired.


Cancellations are recorded on a shared database, and they frequently do check - dependant on the insurer, this is either automatic for every policy, or a random selection.

Obviously, you know the risks, so you know just how stupid it would be to take out insurance that doesn't actually cover you; you might as well drive around without it (don't do that)!

You're just going to have to speak to insurers and explain the situation, and hope that one is reasonable enough to have a word with the underwriters.

Good luck, and don't be an idiot.
1) Call policyassist or Adrian Flux, those are your best bets at sub 3k quotes. Or take a high excess policy out (and hope to god you don't crash, can get excess insurance if it makes you feel better)

2) Don't make worse a problem that's already terrible. It comes up on the MIB you've had a cancellation issued. People get away with it out of sheer luck, it only takes one person to do a random check on you (more often than you think, especially for new and younger drivers) and you're fundamentally screwed. Because whilst you only declare that you've ever had a policy cancelled once, the MIB will still show it twice, once for speeding is still a lot better than "once for speeding, and then again for fraud because I neglected to mention the first one to a previous insurer".

3) The people who tried to tell you not to declare it were after nice fat commissions, they didn't care about giving you proper advice; after all, they won't be the ones in trouble when you're caught.

4) Motorcycle is not a bad idea, can use the NCB from it too - your insurance will still be quite high though.
Reply 3
Original post by nevershear
It comes up on the MIB you've had a cancellation issued.


I believe you're referring to the Claims and Underwriting Exchange (CUE).

Cancellations generally would show on the National Hunter database, rather than CUE.
(edited 5 years ago)
Reply 4
You might get away without declaring your cancellation, if you don't have a collision. But if you do crash, then the insurer will go over your policy with a fine-toothed comb, likely find the cancellation record and refuse to pay out for anything. Then you'll get hit by the double whammy of a potentially large repair bill plus the fine+points for driving without valid insurance. You're taking a massive gamble with this option, and since you've been caught speeding only a few months after passing your test, I'm guessing "caution" isn't a word that often applies to your driving style.

I'd advise against the motorcycle too, as you're actiing pretty immature about all this, and a cavelleir attitude towards speeding plus a chronic lack of driving experience is really not a good combination at the best of times, yet alone when riding on two wheels. If you genuinely want to go the motorcycle route, you really need to take it seriously. I say this as someone who has been riding motorbikes for 5 years now, with several near misses.

If you want to ride, then my advice is to do things properly and don't act like a dumb boy racer. Buy some proper gear and wear it. Don't speed, you're nowhere near as good as you think you are. Don't take risks, as you won't know how to mitigate them. Do still expect to pay a hefty sum in insurance, since the cancellation will still be hovering over you, though if you get a smaller bike it should still be reasonably affordable.
Reply 5
Original post by Dez
You might get away without declaring your cancellation, if you don't have a collision. But if you do crash, then the insurer will go over your policy with a fine-toothed comb, likely find the cancellation record and refuse to pay out for anything. Then you'll get hit by the double whammy of a potentially large repair bill plus the fine+points for driving without valid insurance. You're taking a massive gamble with this option, and since you've been caught speeding only a few months after passing your test, I'm guessing "caution" isn't a word that often applies to your driving style.

I'd advise against the motorcycle too, as you're actiing pretty immature about all this, and a cavelleir attitude towards speeding plus a chronic lack of driving experience is really not a good combination at the best of times, yet alone when riding on two wheels. If you genuinely want to go the motorcycle route, you really need to take it seriously. I say this as someone who has been riding motorbikes for 5 years now, with several near misses.

If you want to ride, then my advice is to do things properly and don't act like a dumb boy racer. Buy some proper gear and wear it. Don't speed, you're nowhere near as good as you think you are. Don't take risks, as you won't know how to mitigate them. Do still expect to pay a hefty sum in insurance, since the cancellation will still be hovering over you, though if you get a smaller bike it should still be reasonably affordable.


As always, superb advice. PRSOM.
Original post by IWMTom
As always, superb advice. PRSOM.


I got you bro
Reply 7
i'd ask if you can cancel yourself by paying the admin fee (usually like £100) because that way, you'll never have had a policy cancelled on you and they make money whilst still getting you to f*ck off
Reply 8
Original post by Mahel
i'd ask if you can cancel yourself by paying the admin fee (usually like £100) because that way, you'll never have had a policy cancelled on you and they make money whilst still getting you to f*ck off


It's too late for that.
some excellent advice here. all i can say is that keeping your fingers crossed that

i) nobody will check up on your past record

ii) you will never need to make a claim

is not a sensible course of action.
a young friend of mine has just had his policy cancelled two weeks in, he is 17 and loaned his car to a work colleague that had driving of other cars while his own car was in for repairs and my young friend was taken to and from work by me....he is beside himself but his work colleague said he will tell them it was his fault, but i dont know if they can re-instate it.........i have told him to contact them, but he is in such a state he hasnt driven the car, but it really is not his fault........what advice please
Reply 11
Original post by summerdale17
a young friend of mine has just had his policy cancelled two weeks in, he is 17 and loaned his car to a work colleague that had driving of other cars while his own car was in for repairs and my young friend was taken to and from work by me....he is beside himself but his work colleague said he will tell them it was his fault, but i dont know if they can re-instate it.........i have told him to contact them, but he is in such a state he hasnt driven the car, but it really is not his fault........what advice please


They cancelled it because he loaned the car to someone else? That doesn't make sense - elaborate on the situation.
Hi. How did you resolve your problem? I got into the same situation at the moment. I already have 2 declined letters and I will try ask for help with Declined Cases Agreement (DCA).
(edited 4 years ago)
A bike might be a good idea for a while. Once you are a bit older (age- especially once you hit 21 and 25 brings the price down) and you have some no claims on the bike, the insurance for a car should be more affordable.
Hi I’ve had my car insurance cancelled but previously have also got a claim already going through which I need my car fixing from will this still be sorted as it happened before they cancelled my policy
Original post by Steph2889
Hi I’ve had my car insurance cancelled but previously have also got a claim already going through which I need my car fixing from will this still be sorted as it happened before they cancelled my policy

Cancelled for what?
My payment was late for this month it has been cancelled at 00.01 this morning I’ve tried to ring and pay but the office is closed I hadn’t realised it hadn’t gone out
Original post by Steph2889
My payment was late for this month it has been cancelled at 00.01 this morning I’ve tried to ring and pay but the office is closed I hadn’t realised it hadn’t gone out


You usually receive a warning prior to cancellation.
Original post by IWMTom
You usually receive a warning prior to cancellation.

I havnt had a cancellation email yet either but when I’ve tried to pay it says it been cancelled x

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