House Insurance

[Mr C]

  (Sorry if this is in the wrong place - maybe someone will move it if that is the case!)

 

So - I wrote to my insurance company to cancel my house insurance, three months before it was due for renewal.  They never received the letter?? 
Foolishly, although I sent it recorded, I didn't keep the advice note that came back.

Now it turns out that I owe them for the years insurance, despite being insured elsewhere now.

 

Anybody know where I stand on this one?

I have recommended the insurer to many people, not least because they have an English person in the office, so it is easy for those who's French isn't too great.
I won't be doing that again!!

 

Thanks

 

Mr C

[Clair]

[quote user="Mr C"]I wrote to my insurance company to cancel my house insurance, three months before it was due for renewal.  They never received the letter??

Foolishly, although I sent it recorded, I didn't keep the advice note that came back.

Now it turns out that I owe them for the years insurance, despite being insured elsewhere now.

Anybody know where I stand on this one?[/quote]

Did you not receive the renewal notice before the old contract expired?

The onus is on you to prove you cancelled the contract.

If you cannot produce the signed receipt for the registered letter, your insurance company is owed 12 months payment.

[giantpanda]

Hi!

In such case, it is recommended in France to have the new company cancel the former insurance. They are quite willing to do this. Further it simplifies your life.

Yours,

giantpanda

[Will]

What Giantpanda says is probably the best advice, but a bit late for you. I think that Clair is correct - if you cannot provide proof that the contract was properly cancelled, the company is entitled to payment. Even having the accuse de reception slip may not be sufficient; I have heard of companies refusing to accept this as proof on the grounds that they only received an empty envelope, not a cancellation letter. It's probably urban myth, but maybe there's a grain of truth.

It raises an interesting question, because normally if you have the same risk assured with two different companies it is regarded as having potential for fraud because you could claim, and be paid out, twice for the same incident - the effect is often to nullify both insurances.

[Mr C]

[quote user="Will"]

...they only received an empty envelope, not a [...] letter. [/quote]

 

Ah!  That old chestnut!  I have had this happen a few times in the UK with stuff I've sent Recorded.

 

Thanks to all for the advice so far.   I have heard nothing more from the old company, they don't respond to my emails and I can only deal with the one agent, as they don't seem to share work.

Of course, I know I'm not lucky enough for the problem to have gone away!!

[allanb]

[quote user="Will"]Even having the accuse de reception slip may not be sufficient; I have heard of companies refusing to accept this as proof on the grounds that they only received an empty envelope, not a cancellation letter. It's probably urban myth, but maybe there's a grain of truth.[/quote]It's more than an urban myth.  My local post office has told me that it does happen, and that it is a recognized problem; they even told me that there's a standard way of dealing with it, namely: write your letter on one side of a single sheet of paper, fold it and staple it, write the address on the other side, and don't put it in an envelope.  That way the post office sticker goes on the same piece of paper and the "empty envelope" story doesn't work.

I learned about this problem some years ago in a dispute with a broadband provider.  It's an appalling comment on French commercial ethics that even the post office apparently thinks you just have to live with it.