From cooling off periods to possible charges, below we’ve outlined what you need to know about cancelling your home insurance policy.
How can I cancel my home insurance policy?
You can cancel your home insurance at any time during the life of the policy (before the expiry date). Please note that cancelling a direct debit instruction doesn’t mean that the home insurance policy has been cancelled as well. You will need to contact your bank to cancel your direct debit separately.
You can cancel your Budget Insurance Home Insurance policy by calling us on 0344 412 2123 at any time before the expiry date and it will be cancelled immediately. Or, you can ask for it to be cancelled from a specific date in the future and we’ll always send you confirmation that your home insurance policy has been cancelled. Should you cancel your home insurance policy within the 14 days cooling off period you will be charged an arrangement fee of £25.00. If you cancel any time after the 14 day cooling off period, a cancellation fee of £25.00 will be applied.
What is a cooling off period?
For insurance products, by law, you have a 14 day ‘cooling off period’. During this time you can cancel your home insurance policy without question. You may incur a charge for cancelling your policy within this period and you will be required to pay for the time that your home has been on cover, you will need to liaise with your insurance company as to their policies and charges.
With Budget Insurance, the 14 day cooling off period allows you to cancel your home insurance policy without objection. An arrangement fee of £25.00 will be charged. We charge an arrangement fee to cover the administration taken to cancel your policy and notify the relevant third parties of your request.
What drawbacks do I need to be aware of for cancelling my home insurance policy?
There are some things that you need to be aware of if you are thinking of cancelling your home insurance policy with your insurance provider. We have detailed below a list of things you need to be aware of:
- If you cancel your home insurance policy following a claim, or any incident that results in a claim, you will still have to pay the full premium.
- You are entitled to a proportional refund of your premium if you cancel within 14 days of receiving your policy documents.
- If you cancel your home insurance policy after 14 days, we’ll charge you for the time you’ve had insurance cover. You will also have to pay us a cancellation fee. The cancellation fee will be calculated according to the terms and conditions of our contract with you, set out in the ‘Important Information About Our Insurance Intermediary Services’ section of your policy documentation.
- When you cancel your home insurance policy, additional products such as Family Legal Protection or Keycare will also be cancelled at the same time. We will only refund premiums for additional products if you cancel your home insurance policy within 14 days of receiving your policy documents. Any additional products which are not linked to your home insurance policy such as Home Emergency Assistance will continue to be in force.
- Refunds are paid back into the account that the premiums were paid from unless the account holder has died. In that case, we will need confirmation in writing of the name of the executor of the deceased person’s estate so that a cheque can be sent to them.
Will I get a refund if I cancel my home insurance?
If you cancel your home insurance policy after the cooling off period but before it expires, you may be entitled to a refund dependent upon whether you paid annually or monthly and whether you have had a claim or not. You will be required to speak to your insurance provider directly to enquire as to their cancellation policy.
To request the cancellation of your Budget Insurance Home Insurance policy or to enquire as to our cancellation process, please call our Customer Service Team on 0344 412 2123. Our team are available Monday to Friday 8am-8pm; Saturday 8am-6pm; Sunday 10am-4pm.