A friend who is in insurance was round this morning and I mentioned recent events and he spelt out for me exactly where I stood as regards this whole thing and how the insurer should have responded.
He says that I should automatically have been given not half my money back but all of it on the grounds that no contract existed. He said that because I did not buy the mini I did not own any part of it and that consequently I did not have an "insurable interest in the property being insured". Aborting the purchase automatically voided the contract.
Cheers Dave.