Canceling Home Or Car Insurance

GM Is Watching You…

I have never liked GM’s OnStar system – in part because I don’t like the idea of my car that I paid for having someone else’s “black box” recording (and transmitting) data about how I drive, where I drive and even when I drive. I also don’t like that GM force-feeds OnStar to every buyer of every GM car – whether the buyer wants it or not.

I believe that GM’s long-term goal is to see to it that not only every GM vehicle is equipped with a “black box” (technically, an Event Data Recorder, or EDR) but that all vehicles are so equipped – and every single driver in the United States – possibly the world – monitored whenever he or she is operating a motor vehicle.

There is big money in it: Automated tickets, jacked-up insurance fees for “speeders” and seat belt scofflaws – as well as “marketing opportunities” for GM’s “partners,” whom GM will provide all sorts of juicy tidbits about your life to – including where and when you shop, so that they can “target” their advertising your way.

And there is the prospect of delicious (to power lusters) micromanaging control, too.

Drive faster than The Law says you ought to – and they’ll know about it, immediately, every single time you do it and exactly how much you do it. Fail to Buckle Up For Safety – even if it’s just to drive down the driveway – and they’ll know about it the moment you put the car in gear. It is entirely within the realm of technical possibility that they’ll even know exactly what you’ve been talking about while in your car, too – because OnStar is very much like a Telescreen from Orwell’s 1984. If you have an OnStar-equipped car, you have GM’s microphones in your car. And GM can turn them on anytime it likes – and record anything you say.

Home Insurances :Automatic insurance renewals – check your ...

In most cases, the answer is “yes” if you have agreed to auto-renewal in the policy terms. (However, do note that we are talking about UK insurance policies. So, if you have, for example, a French insurance policy from an overseas provider, then different terms and conditions may apply in relation to cancelling French insurance). The fee for this will vary depending on the company, the product, and the duration of cover, but fees of £50 may not be uncommon. This may sound excessive, and some people may even say that this is unreasonable, but, certainly with UK insurance companies, they are (in most cases) well within their rights to charge you a nominal fee if you want to cancel an automatically renewed policy. As you can see, the key to not getting hit with a cancellation fee if you have cover that automatically renews is by reading the policy documentation fully at the time you purchase your cover, ensuring you know whether your policy is on an auto-renewal basis or not. That way you can diarise to review your cover around 6 weeks before your current policy expires, giving you plenty of time to find new cover and cancel as per the terms – or stick with your existing policy. Of course, for some people, having automatically renewed insurance is a safeguard that they don’t have to worry about being uninsured due to them forgetting to renew their cover. One of the downsides, however, to having an auto-renewed policy is that you may be paying more for your insurance than you need to. You may also be missing out on enhanced policy features and benefits compared to your existing deal.

At Home, A Short History of Private Life

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At home in Mitford