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Average Cost to Cancel UK Car Insurance (2024)
Cancelling car insurance in the UK can be done at any time, and typically involves a cancellation fee (which is likely to be higher after the 14-day cooling off period) and either a refund on your prepaid premium or additional premium owed if you pay monthly. Here are typical car insurance cancellation costs to help you understand what you're paying. For more information read our Ultimate Guide to Cancelling Car Insurance.
- How much does it cost to cancel car insurance in the UK?
- Do you get a refund when you cancel car insurance?
- FAQs
Average Car Insurance Cancellation Fees UK
The average UK car insurance cancellation fee is £24 during the 14-day cooling off period and £55 after the cooling off period. However, fees for cancelling early vary widely, ranging from £0 to £125 or more.
| Car Insurance Cancellation Fees UK | Low | High | Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Within 14-day Cooling-off Period | £0 | £100 (£247 for telematics) | £24 |
| After 14-day Cooling-off Period | £30 | £125 (£247 for telematics) | £55 |
Black box policies typically cost more to cancel than policies without a telematics requirement—this is primarily due to the costs of supplying and fitting the black box.
In addition to cancellation fees, there may be additional costs of cancelling. For instance, if you paid a set up or arrangement fee, this may not be refunded to you.
Car Insurance Cancellation Fees UK
To calculate the average cost to cancel car insurance, we checked administration fees from the terms and conditions of more than three dozen leading UK car insurance brands. In the table below we show the standard cancellation fees we found, by brand. Telematics policies, in particular, may charge higher fees than we've listed.
Note that some brands like Aviva charge less during the 14-day cooling off period if your cover hasn't started yet and more if cover has started. Telematics cancellation fees are noticeably higher, which you can see with General Accident, Ingenie and Admiral.
| Brand | Within 14-day Cooling-off Period | After 14-day Cooling-off Period |
|---|---|---|
| AA | £0 | £32.5 (and you still pay the £28 arrangement fee) |
| Acorn | £0 | After 14 days, £75 (plus another £33.25 - £105 for telematics whenever you cancel) |
| Admiral | £25 (£75 Plug & Drive, £125 LittleBox/Safe Driver) | £60 (£110 Plug & Drive, £160 LittleBox/Safe Driver) |
| Ageas | £0 | £50 (and £20 setup fee is nonrefundable) |
| Aviva | £0 (or £38 if cover has started) | £38 |
| Bell | £25 (£75 Plug & Drive, or £50 if unit returned within 30 days) | £60 (£110 Plug & Drive, or £50 if unit returned within 30 days) |
| Budget | £30 | £45 |
| By Miles | £50 | £50 |
| Carrot^ | £75 | £35 |
| Churchill^ | £0 | £56.73 |
| Diamond | £25 | £60 |
| Direct Line | £0 | £48.16 |
| Elephant | £25 | £60 |
| Esure | £26 | £60 |
| First Central | £0 | £50 |
| General Accident | £25 | £50 |
| General Accident telematics | £100 | £125 |
| Go Girl | £45 | £45 plus cancellation scale of premium |
| GoSkippy | £35 | £75 |
| Hastings | £0 | £45 |
| Hedgehog^ | £50 | £60 |
| iGO4 | £35 (and £60 setup fee is nonrefundable) | £65 (and £60 setup fee is nonrefundable) |
| Ingenie | £35 | £80 (+ £105 if a telematics box has been installed) |
| Insure Pink | £0 (but £20 arrangement fee nonrefundable) | £45 (+ £20 arrangement fee is nonrefundable) |
| John Lewis | £0 | £40 |
| LV= | £0 | £40 |
| Marmalade | £25 | £50 |
| Marshmallow | £30 | £60 to £125 |
| MyPolicy | £75 to £247 | £75 to £247 (and £350 arranement fee is non refundable) |
| One Call | £34.99 to £49.99 | £55.99 |
| QuoteMeHappy.com | £0 | £30 |
| RAC | £5 | £50 |
| Saga | £25 | £50 |
| Sainsbury's Bank | £25 | £55 (and £40 set up fee is non refundable) |
| Sheilas' Wheels | £26 | £35 or £60 |
| Sterling | £85 (plus set up fee is non refundable) | £40 or £85 (plus set up fee is non refundable) |
| Swiftcover | £0 | £52.50 |
| Tesco Bank | £0 | £40 |
| Vavista | £25 or £35 | £75 |
Do you Get a Refund if you Cancel Car Insurance?
The insurer will calculate if they owe you a refund on your premium (say, if you prepaid in full) or if you owe them some premium for time you've been covered (if you pay monthly). Most brands will make these calculations on a pro rata basis, which essentially means you pay a proportionate amount for the time you were covered (e.g., 1/365th of the premium per day of cover).
However, a few brands calculate premium owed or to be refunded using a scale (not pro rata) which means you'd pay MORE for the time covered. For example, Go Girl charges 20% of the premium if you cancel within the first month, as you can see in the premium scale below.
| Go Girl Cancellation Scale | Percentage of Premium Payable |
|---|---|
| Up to 1 month | 20% |
| Up to 2 months | 28% |
| Up to 3 months | 36% |
| Up to 4 months | 44% |
| Up to 5 months | 52% |
| Up to 6 months | 60% |
| Up to 7 months | 68% |
| Up to 8 months | 76% |
| Up to 9 months | 84% |
| Up to 10 months | 92% |
| Above 10 months | 100% |
Car insurance cancellation if you've made a claim
If you've already made a claim, the premium calculations are quite different. If you have made a claim and cancel during the 14-day cooling off period, your insurance company can deduct the sum paid out from the refund of the premium. If you have made a claim and cancel after the first 14 days, you will still owe the entire premium for the whole policy year.
We assume this is the situation for the anonymous comments left below, where motorists are charged an exorbitant amount. If you have been charged a really excessive amount to cancel and this is NOT the case (i.e. you haven't made a claim), please let us know in the comments section below.