How do I cancel my home insurance?

Key takeaways

• You can cancel your home insurance by contacting your insurance provider at any point in the policy term

• Your insurer may charge a cancellation fee (typically £25-£50), especially after the legal 14-day 'cooling-off' period

• Make sure you have a new policy in place when your cover stops at 11.59pm on the day of cancellation to avoid your home being uninsured

Can I cancel my home insurance at any time?

Yes, you can cancel your home insurance at any time but the rules usually differ depending on whether you’re within the legal 14-day cooling-off period or you’re cancelling afterwards.

• During the 14-day cooling-off period: You can cancel a home insurance policy for any reason. The 14 days start either when your policy begins or when you receive your policy documents, whichever is later. You will either be offered a full refund or a refund for your policy, minus an amount for the days the policy was in place (provided you haven’t made a claim). You might also be charged a cancellation fee.

• After the 14-day cooling-off period: You can still cancel your home insurance. In this scenario, the insurer will usually give you a pro-rata refund (provided you haven’t claimed on your policy). For example, if you cancel with 6 months remaining, it might refund half your premium. However, you will normally be charged an administration or cancellation fee, which is typically £25 to £50. The cancellation fee will be stated in your policy documents.

💡 Top tip: Home insurance cancellation requests can’t usually be backdated, so your policy will only be cancelled after you contact your insurer – even if you haven’t needed the cover for some time.

How do I cancel my home insurance?

🚩 Don’t stop your monthly direct debit without informing your insurer.

Cancelling a direct debit does not cancel your home insurance policy. Your insurer will likely chase you for missed payments. Information about missed payments may be passed to credit reference agencies and could negatively impact your credit report.

There are a number of steps you need to go through to cancel your home insurance policy:

• Contact your insurance provider: You can normally cancel your home insurance by calling your insurer, completing an online form or using their online live chat. You must be the policyholder named on the documents to cancel a home insurance policy

• Verify your details: You’ll usually need to tell your insurer your name, date of birth, address, policy number and renewal date

• Find out about any fees: Your insurer should tell you about any administration or cancellation fees, if they apply. If you feel these are too high, you can make a complaint to your insurer, then to the Financial Ombudsman Service if you and your insurer are unable to come to an agreement

• Tell your insurer if you've found a better deal: You don’t need to give a reason if your insurer asks why you have decided to cancel but if you tell them you’ve found a cheaper option they may match it

• Decide if you still want to cancel: Once you know if your insurer will offer you a better deal and if there are any cancellation fees you can decide whether it’s worth going ahead with cancelling your policy

• Receive confirmation: After your’ve informed your insurer you should get confirmation via email or a letter in the post and your policy will expire at 11.59pm on the day you want your policy to end

Will I get a refund if I cancel my home insurance?

Whether or not you get a refund for the time you no longer need your home insurance, and how much you receive, will depend on the terms and conditions of your policy, and:

• If you’ve made a claim on your home insurance policy: If you have, you’re unlikely to receive a refund, even if you cancel before your policy term ends.

• At what point you cancel: If you cancel within the first 14 days you may get a full refund or a pro-rata refund. If you cancel at a later date, and have already paid for your cover in full, most insurers will give you a refund based on how long your policy has left to run. However, the amount you receive will usually be minus an administration or cancellation fee. If you pay monthly for your policy, which is usually more expensive than paying annually, you may also have to pay an administration fee to stop your payments

• If you have any add-ons to your policy: If you’ve paid for extras, such as legal expenses, some insurers won’t refund the additional cost of these if you cancel your policy

Can I switch to a cheaper home insurance provider?

Yes, it may be possible to switch to a cheaper home insurance provider.

But before you cancel your existing policy and buy a new one, you need to work out if it’s really worth it. To do this, you need to factor in any administration or cancellation fee you’ll need to pay. For example, if you find a policy that’s £30 cheaper per year, but the cancellation fee is £30 or more, it won’t be worth it.

Do I need to cancel my home insurance if I move house?

You might not need to cancel your home insurance if you’re moving house, as long as your insurance provider can transfer your policy to your new home.

However, your premium could change if you move an existing policy to a new property. That’s because one of the factors used to calculate premiums is your postcode as certain areas are more at risk of water damage or flooding than others, while other areas might have higher or lower crime rates.

You may also need to pay an admin fee (known as a mid-term adjustment fee).

You should compare your new premium with quotes from other home insurance companies to work out what’s best for you.

Make sure you find out whether your current provider charges any cancellation fees or mid-term adjustment fees, and factors these in if you’re thinking of switching.

You can read this checklist to find out about other things you need to do when you move house.

Do I lose my no-claims discount if I cancel my home insurance policy?

No, you won’t lose any no-claims discount built up prior to taking out your policy simply because you cancel it. However, you won’t qualify for another year’s no-claims discount because you won’t have completed a claim-free year.

So cancelling just affects how many years’ worth of no-claims you transfer to your new insurance provider.

💡 Top tip: Be aware that the amount of no-claims bonus offered can vary between insurance providers and some don’t offer a discount at all.

How do I stop my home insurance from auto-renewing?

If you’ve signed up to auto-renew your home insurance policy with your current insurance provider at the end of the policy year you should:

• Look out for a letter or email from your insurer a few weeks ahead of the renewal date to tell you what your renewal price will be. Auto-renewal doesn’t mean your policy will be renewed at the same price as before – your premium might go up so it’s important to check

• Shop around and compare this figure with home insurance quotes from other providers. If your current insurer is offering the best deal, you can let your policy auto-renew. Otherwise you should cancel the auto-renewal and switch to a cheaper insurer or see if your current insurer will match the new deal you’ve found

Can I still cancel my home insurance after my policy has auto-renewed?

Yes, if you just let your policy auto-renew, and then realise there are cheaper deals elsewhere, you can still cancel and get a pro-rata refund but you will usually have to pay a cancellation charge.

That’s why it’s a good idea to make a note of your home insurance renewal date and start shopping around for the best value policy a few weeks beforehand.

Do I really need home insurance?

While there’s no legal requirement to have home insurance, it may be a condition of your mortgage to have buildings insurance. This will cover the structure of your home, and fixtures and fittings. If you want to cover your possessions you’ll need contents insurance.

Remember, if you cancel your home insurance and don’t buy alternative cover, you may break the terms of your mortgage contract and you could face significant costs if something – such as a fire or flood – happens and damages your home or possessions.

Can I get short-term home insurance?

Yes, you can take out short-term home insurance. You might need temporary home insurance if your home insurance is due for renewal but you’ll be moving house in a couple of months’ time.

Short-term home insurance generally provides similar cover to a standard policy – although it can work out more expensive, which is why it’s best used as a stopgap.

Cover can be arranged for as little as seven days, or can extend to three, six, nine, or 12 months.

How can I switch to a cheaper home insurance policy?

You can find cheap home insurance deals by comparing policies with MoneySuperMarket.

All you have to do is answer a few questions about yourself and your home; then let us search the market for the most suitable deals from a range of insurance providers.