Man Pays Insurance for Nine Years on Car He Sold

• Jason Unrau

• March 1, 2016

A Toronto-area man is counting his blessings after finally realizing that he was paying insurance premiums for a vehicle he had sold to a scrap yard nine years earlier.

Stanley Brown in Ontario, Canada owned a 1994 Plymouth Acclaim. The car was suffering from engine problems in 2007 and Stanley decided the car wasn’t worth repairing, so he had it hauled away to the scrap yard.

Brown claims he contacted his insurance company at the time and instructed them to cancel the policy. He then bought a new car and insured it through a different insurance carrier and to his understanding he no longer had any business with his previous insurer for the Plymouth Acclaim.

Through the following nine years, Stanley Brown and his wife received mail from the insurance carrier, but thinking it was just junk mail or letters trying to win back his business, the couple discarded the letters.

Payments Still Being Withdrawn

It wasn’t until recently that Stanley’s wife opened one of the letters and quickly realized payments were still being withdrawn from their bank account for the policy on the ’94 Acclaim. A quick visit to the bank confirmed it: Stanley had paid premiums for a car he hadn’t owned for nine years.

Brown contacted the insurance company about the not-so-small discrepancy and received a proposed settlement equivalent to the premiums he had paid unnecessarily for two years. When he balked at that, they offered to increase the settlement to four years worth of premiums.

In an interview with Canadian broadcaster CTV’s Pat Foran, Brown’s daughter Rochelle said, “I think it’s fair to give it all back, nine years of payments.” CTV contacted Brown’s insurance company who said that the situation was unusual but iterated that it’s the policyholder’s responsibility to ensure the policy has been terminated.

The spokesperson for the insurance provider said that Stanley Brown’s case will be reviewed, then stated that senior management had decided to reimburse the Browns for the full nine years of premiums paid, totaling more than $11,000.