Out of interest, did your (former) insurance company or your broker indicate that they tried to contact you, to remind you to renew ?
Yes MrEarl - my broker said that renewal notices had been posted out approx. 4 weeks before the renewal date and a week or so after it. There was also an email sent approx 1 week after the renewal date - but as I had never received such reminders by email before, and did not have the renewal date in my mind, I did not go looking for that email and didn't see it until I went searching back through all emails after being stopped at the checkpoint. I know it may seem far fetched, but there are still some people out there who have limited or sporadic internet access and who may not actually use email etc on a regular basis. As for the renewal notices sent by post, I still have had no success at all in finding either of them, despite having such notices from earlier years still in my files (I mean the kind of files that are kept in a filing cabinet!!).
What may have happened, at least in relation to the first renewal notice, is that at around the time it was sent out, one of my dogs suddenly developed an extreme behaviour problem called 'separation anxiety', which I know probably sounds laughable to those of you not familiar with it, but it is actually quite serious, as it essentially means the dog can no longer be left unattended in the house. Basically when I went back at work after the Christmas holidays, she started to literally go berserk and really tear the place asunder.
On one such occasion, a person who had dropped in to check on things while I was at work discovered two whole shelves of books pulled out and several books, including a very large encyclopedia, shredded and spread all over the floor etc. along with a lot of other paperwork that had been in the room. It was an unbelievable mess. On that occasion or possibly on a subsequent similar occasion, some tidying up took place
while I was still at work, which, now that I look back, may have resulted in an unopened envelope being put up 'out of harm's way', where, to date, I haven't been able to find it. As to the second letter, I really do not have any recollection of ever seeing it, and as it would have been telling me my insurance had expired, I would definitely have paid attention to it and acted on it immediately.
While all of this is true, I am slightly worried that if I mention it to the judge in a court, he/she may think I am treating him/her like an idiot, with an excuse similar to the classic 'the dog ate my homework'!!
When/if I get a quote from my most recent insurance company, I will post that information here for general interest. I also would hope to let participants on this thread know what the outcome of my court appearance is, whenever that happens. If nothing else, perhaps I will succeed in terrifying anyone who might potentially commit the same oversight that I did into taking precautions such as posting notices all over their house (out of reach of dogs) with the renewal date written out in very large print, putting stickers on the steering wheel of the car, tying knots in handkerchiefs (remember those??), putting their watch (things people used to use to tell the time in the 'olden days') on the other wrist etc.
Thank you to those who responded to my post, and particularly those of you who expressed some sympathy with me and my plight. With the best will in the world, people do sometimes make genuine mistakes and forget things and even though the consequences must be faced, a bit of humanity along the way does help!