"Dacouch, thank you so much for your continuing help and advice on insurance issues. You clearly have experience of the industry, and we are lucky to have the benefit of it."

No problem.

Incidently the Ombudsman changed their guidance on this matter at the end of last year, prior to that it in effect said if you write your vehicle off there is normally no refund of premiums.

Now it says

"

Most motor insurance policies are yearly contracts – so the full premium is payable even if the vehicle is written off during the year. If the consumer paid the yearly premium upfront, they will not receive any refund. Or if the consumer was paying the yearly premium by monthly instalments, they must still pay the outstanding instalments after the vehicle is written off.

When an insurer declares a vehicle a write-off, we expect it to offer a consumer the option of bringing a replacement vehicle onto the insurance policy so that the remainder of the policy term can be used. Depending on the make and model of the replacement vehicle, an additional premium may be required by the insurer. This should be calculated on a pro rata basis for the remainder of the policy term."

financial-ombudsman.org.uk/publications/technical_...l

Note the last paragraph.

This is the part the Ombudsman added last year, many Insurers have not adjusted their policy wordings / practices to reflect this so many will still try and cancel. In my view an Official Complaint pointing this out to them should sort the matter out failing that I believe (It's new guidance so untested) that a complaint to the Ombudsman might result in a pro rata refund of the balance of the premiums if the Insurer did not offer the option to substitute vehicles.

A successful complaint to the Ombudsman would result in the Ombudsman forcing the Insurer to put the customer back in the position they would have been. Hence my view that they may enforce a refund of premiums etc

" if it's a cheaper car (To insure) then there is normally no refund.

Aviva did refund me the difference between my premiums when my '05 Mazda 6 was written off in a rear-ender and the replacement '95 volvo 440.

ISTR I got about £60 back. Premimum had been paid in full about 2 months earlier."

Aviva as do most Insurers do not normally give a refund if you substitute vehicles following a total loss.

What almost certainly happened in your situation was there was either a mistake on your computer record and / or the person you spoke to made a mistake