Car insurance - Tips & Advice - Direct Line car insurance
There may be times when you don’t drive for a period of time – maybe you are going away for a while, or it is not cost efficient to run a car for the amount you are using it. In this case, Direct Line provides a number of options…
If your car is going to be off the road for a temporary amount of time it’s great to know that Direct Line can help by adjusting your Car Insurance account. On the one hand we can change the level of Car Cover you have. For instance, Comprehensive customers can reduce their cover to Third Party, Fire & Theft, or cheaper still to Fire and Theft Only. Fire & Theft Only is known as a laid-up policy and ensures that your vehicle is still protected in case a fire or theft happens while your car is on standby. To meet the terms of a laid-up policy you must keep your car in a locked garage, with no road use whatsoever and the Certificate of Insurance must be returned so that the premium can be adjusted to reflect the reduction in cover.
We can also suspend your cover for a short period of time. To qualify for a credit, you must suspend cover for at least 28 days in a row.
In both cases, if your car is off the road you will need to inform the Driving and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) and request a Statutory Off-Road Notification certificate.
For drivers who wish to cancel their Direct Line Car Insurance because their car will be off the road for a long period or even permanently – the correct cancellation procedure must be followed. If not, you could end up paying out more. If you have paid in full before you cancel and require a refund you need to send your Certificate of Motor Insurance along with a covering letter to your nearest Direct Line Office. This should be done with seven days’ notice. We will refund you provided that no claim or loss has arisen since the insurance began or was renewed. If your policy is less than 14 days old, we can give you a full refund. In all other cases you must pay pro-rata for the term you were covered plus one month.
Where a policy is being paid by installments there may be an outstanding balance to be settled following cancellation. If a claim has been made the full annual premium normally remains payable following cancellation. Customers should note that canceling your direct debit instructions does not mean you have cancelled your policy.
If your car is coming off the road because you are swapping it for a new one, Direct Line can also offer a substitution of cover for good customer service, including the same renewal date.
There may be some circumstances where we must cancel your policy. In this case, we will send you seven day’s written notice and return your premium less the amount for the period the policy has been in force.
Customers can read about canceling, suspending or amending their Direct Line Car Insurance at any time by consulting our online policy documents.
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