One of my near neighbours has put his house up for sale and has decided to move into a care home.
He is 89 and as fit as a flea but has no living relatives and has decided to make the move while he is fit enough to put up with the trauma of the move. Rather than leave it until he is ailing.
10 days ago he sent an Email to his car insurers worded as follows :-
"This is to advise you that although I am in good health, I have decided to move into a care home and give up driving when I do. My car insurance expires on June 6th and I write to ensure that you do not automatically renew it by direct debit which you can now cancel".
Last Friday he received a letter from them confirming that they cancelled his insurance 8 days ago and enclosing a statement showing they had refunded the premium for the unused insurance from which had been deducted a £45 administration charge.
He was horrified to learn that he has spent the last 8 days driving without insurance and asked me whether I thought his Email was not clear. To make matters worse - when he phoned them they told him that they could not reinstate the policy and he would have to start from scratch. The new policy for just 4 months is almost as much as the previous year's premium - which he has accepted.
You or I would have kicked up merry hell at this treatment - he has been with the same insurer for 7 years - and I suggested that he should fight them over it. But he wants a quiet life and cannot be bothered.
A man who is moving into a splendid private care home where the monthly fee for his apartment suite and full board is £6,900, is clearly not short of money.
