How to cancel Direct Line car insurance

Find out what you have to do to cancel your Direct Line car insurance policy and what it will cost.

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Esther Wolffowitz

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Perhaps you’re selling your car and stopping driving for a while, or you think you can get a better car insurance deal elsewhere. Thankfully, it’s pretty easy to cancel your Direct Line policy.

In this guide we give you a step-by-step guide to quitting Direct Line car insurance and explain whether it’s worth it. Sometimes the costs aren’t worth the hassle.

How to cancel your Direct Line car insurance policy

Cancellation after 14 days
You’ve missed the cooling-off period but you still have some time to go on your Direct Line policy. Unfortunately, it’s going to cost you more to jump ship, though it’s still possible.

  1. Either call or write a letter to Direct Line explaining you want to cancel your Direct Line car insurance policy on that day (it receives your message) or on a later agreed date.
  2. It will hit you with an administration fee, which is typically about £50.
  3. If you pay in monthly instalments you’ll have to pay off any remaining balance and credit.
  4. Residents of Northern Ireland, Isle of Man or the Channel Islands have to return the certificate of motor insurance too.
  5. Direct Line will then refund you your premium, minus a charge for the number of days you’ve been covered.
  6. However, Direct Line will not give you a refund if you’ve made a claim or someone has made a claim against you during your contract with it.
Cancellation within 14 days of cover
Much like buying clothes or a new TV, you get a cooling-off period if you don’t like the look of your Direct Line car insurance when you get it. Act fast and cancel within 14 days and you’ll get nearly all your money back, with no penalty charge.

  1. Either call or write a letter to Direct Line saying you want out within 14 days of cover starting or from when you receive your documents. Whichever is later.
  2. Direct Line will refund you the premium you’ve paid for minus a fee for the number of days you’ve been given cover for your car insurance.
  3. It will give you a full refund for any breakdown cover you’ve paid for though.
  4. If you’ve made a claim or someone has made one against you, Direct Line won’t give you a refund though.
Cancel before your policy starts

  1. Call Direct Line and explain you want to cancel your policy.
  2. It will give you a full refund for your car insurance as well as for any breakdown cover you’ve taken out.

Things to consider before cancelling your policy with Direct Line

  • Fees. You’ll have to pay an administration fee to cancel Direct Line early. While not incredibly expensive, seeing out your deal with Direct Line will mean you don’t have to pay this.
  • Refund. You need to work out if the amount you’re going to get refunded is more than the admin fee. If not, then it might be worth just running the deal down.
  • Have you made a claim. You won’t get a refund if you’ve made a claim or had one made against you during your deal with Direct Line. Cancelling early might just leave you even more out of pocket.
  • Adjust with Direct Line. Should you want a cheaper deal or a different level of cover with Direct Line then you can make mid-term changes without being charged an admin fee. This is worth looking into.
  • Best time to switch. As discussed above, the best time to contact a new provider is about three weeks before your Direct Line deal is due to end. Make sure you get in touch with Direct Line at least a week before your policy is up telling it not to automatically renew your policy.
  • No claims. Some companies might not let you take your no claims bonus for that period, which might put you off leaving.

Changing car insurance provider

Switching car insurance providers is one of the best ways to slash costs. Often insurers don’t reward loyalty, so taking our a new policy could drive your premium down.

We’ll walk you through how you can change from Direct Line to a new insurance provider.

  1. Shop around. Work out what level of coverage you want, then use comparison sites to really whittle down the options and find the best one.
  2. Go direct. Some insurance companies don’t put their deals on comparison sites, so it’s worth getting a few quotes directly too.
  3. Sign up. Take out your new insurance policy, ideally about three weeks before your Direct Line deal is set to expire. Tell your new provider you want to start the policy immediately, or maybe the better idea would be to ask for your insurance to kick in the day your Direct Line deal finishes.
  4. Cancel Direct Line. If you’ve taken out a new car insurance policy you need to call Direct Line and tell it you want to cancel your policy that day.
  5. Don’t renew. Or, if you’ve asked your new car insurance company to start your new coverage when your Direct Line one finishes, then simply call Direct Line and explicitly say you don’t want it to automatically renew your insurance. If you don’t get in touch it will do this!
  6. Fees. You’ll have to pay an admin fee if you’ve quit Direct Line early so make sure your new deal is worth leaving for.

Frequently asked questions

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*Based on data provided by Consumer Intelligence Ltd, www.consumerintelligence.com (July ’24). 51% of car insurance customers could save £523.17
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Esther Wolffowitz was a publisher at finder.com specialising in insurance. Esther holds an MSc in Media and Communication Governance from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). See full bio

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