Car insurance cooling-off periods: what you need to know
A cooling-off period is a window of time you get to change your mind after buying something.
By law, a lot of products have to offer you a cooling-off period. Car insurance is one of them.
If you've just bought a car insurance policy, here's everything you need to know about your cooling-off period.
Even if you cancel during your cooling-off period, you can still be charged a cancellation fee
If you want to cancel a car insurance policy early, you usually have to pay a cancellation fee. Different insurers charge different fees.
If you cancel during your cooling-off period, you might still have to pay a fee - but it's sometimes lower than it would be after the cooling-off period.
You'll also be charged for the time you were covered
When you cancel car insurance, you'll get a refund on any payments you've made (as long as you haven't made a claim).
But your insurer will keep some of the refund to cover the time you've been insured. Plus a bit more for the cancellation fee (if you need to pay one).
This applies during the cooling-off period, too. If you pay for the whole year up front, and you cancel after a week, you'll get a refund for the cost of 51 weeks' insurance. (Minus any other fees you have to pay.)
Cooling-off periods can start at different times
Cooling-off periods vary a bit between insurers. But it's usually 14 days from either:
- The date your policy starts, or
- The day you get your policy documents
Most of the time, it's whichever of those two things is later.
You can check when your cooling-off period starts in your policy documents. It's usually listed under a section called something like "Your right to cancel".
You won't be charged if you cancel before your policy actually starts
Cooling-off periods kick in when the policy starts, but car insurance policies don't have to start straight away. If you've arranged for it to start, say, a month in the future, your cooling-off period won't start for a month.
And if you cancel your policy before it actually starts, you usually won't have to pay any fees at all.
You start a new cooling-off period when you renew
Most car insurance policies renew automatically. If you decide to stick with your insurance company when it's time to renew, you'll start a new cooling-off period.
During this new cooling-off period, the same rules around cancellation fees apply.
Cooling-off periods are the same when you pay monthly
Even if you pay monthly for your insurance, you'll still get a cooling-off period.
That's because, if you pay monthly for car insurance, you're still getting a full year of insurance. You're just paying it off in instalments, like a loan.
Optional extras can come with cooling-off periods, too
If you have any optional extras with your car insurance - like breakdown cover - these sometimes come with their own cooling-off period.
To double-check, have a look at the policy documents for the optional extra. (it's usually separate to your main car insurance policy documents).
Like your car insurance policy, breakdown cover - and most other optional extras - usually renew automatically. So if you do let it renew after a year, you'll start another cooling-off period.
You don't get a cooling-off period with temporary car insurance
Things are a little different with temporary car insurance. If you want to cancel, you won't normally get a refund.
Get temporary insurance
Whether you car is in-between annual policies, or you just want to borrow a friend's car, you need to be insured - and Cuvva's policies from 1 hour to 28 days might be able to help, with cover starting from just £11.90.
- Temporary car insurance for borrowing or lending a car in minutes.
- Learner driver cover for driving lessons, getting practice in with a supervisor, or taking the driving test.
- Drive away insurance for getting your new car home from the dealership.
- Temporary van insurance for moving home, dropping things to the recycling centre, or carrying a heavy load.
And it only takes a few minutes to get a quote.