How many years no claims bonus do I say to insurers now?
Discussion
Been trying to get some new quotes today after a fault claim with esure in January this year (trampoline blew from my garden into my car), all are very high based on the 3 years no claims bonus esure now say I have.
Thing is before this claim in January I had 16 claim free years. An internet search suggests this should have only reduced by 2-3 years as a result of one claim not down to 3 like esure policy dictates.
I have proof of no claims showing 14 years in 2019 but the more recent ones only show 9 years due to the maximum accepted by my previous insurance companies. In effect I had 16 claim free years before this incident .I assume any company would be able to check and confirm via insurers databases that I made no claims in that period
So when I am getting quotes from different companies and comparison sites what no claims figure should I give?
Might it be worth visiting a broker who might be able to give a more personal quote based on my circumstances?
Thing is before this claim in January I had 16 claim free years. An internet search suggests this should have only reduced by 2-3 years as a result of one claim not down to 3 like esure policy dictates.
I have proof of no claims showing 14 years in 2019 but the more recent ones only show 9 years due to the maximum accepted by my previous insurance companies. In effect I had 16 claim free years before this incident .I assume any company would be able to check and confirm via insurers databases that I made no claims in that period
So when I am getting quotes from different companies and comparison sites what no claims figure should I give?
Might it be worth visiting a broker who might be able to give a more personal quote based on my circumstances?
ED209 said:
Been trying to get some new quotes today after a fault claim with esure in January this year (trampoline blew from my garden into my car), all are very high based on the 3 years no claims bonus esure now say I have.
Thing is before this claim in January I had 16 claim free years. An internet search suggests this should have only reduced by 2-3 years as a result of one claim not down to 3 like esure policy dictates.
I have proof of no claims showing 14 years in 2019 but the more recent ones only show 9 years due to the maximum accepted by my previous insurance companies. In effect I had 16 claim free years before this incident .I assume any company would be able to check and confirm via insurers databases that I made no claims in that period
So when I am getting quotes from different companies and comparison sites what no claims figure should I give?
Might it be worth visiting a broker who might be able to give a more personal quote based on my circumstances?
You have to be careful with this. As you say the insurance company can check your NC at the flick of a switch.Thing is before this claim in January I had 16 claim free years. An internet search suggests this should have only reduced by 2-3 years as a result of one claim not down to 3 like esure policy dictates.
I have proof of no claims showing 14 years in 2019 but the more recent ones only show 9 years due to the maximum accepted by my previous insurance companies. In effect I had 16 claim free years before this incident .I assume any company would be able to check and confirm via insurers databases that I made no claims in that period
So when I am getting quotes from different companies and comparison sites what no claims figure should I give?
Might it be worth visiting a broker who might be able to give a more personal quote based on my circumstances?
If you state what they consider to be the wrong NCD, they can and do issue the policy and then request more money saying they have checked their records and there is extra to pay.
It's one of the insurance industries favourite little tricks.
ED209 said:
Been trying to get some new quotes today after a fault claim with esure in January this year (trampoline blew from my garden into my car), all are very high based on the 3 years no claims bonus esure now say I have.
Thing is before this claim in January I had 16 claim free years. An internet search suggests this should have only reduced by 2-3 years as a result of one claim not down to 3 like esure policy dictates.
I have proof of no claims showing 14 years in 2019 but the more recent ones only show 9 years due to the maximum accepted by my previous insurance companies. In effect I had 16 claim free years before this incident .I assume any company would be able to check and confirm via insurers databases that I made no claims in that period
So when I am getting quotes from different companies and comparison sites what no claims figure should I give?
Might it be worth visiting a broker who might be able to give a more personal quote based on my circumstances?
The high quotes might be less to do with the actual reduction in no claims bonus, and much more to do with the recent claim.Thing is before this claim in January I had 16 claim free years. An internet search suggests this should have only reduced by 2-3 years as a result of one claim not down to 3 like esure policy dictates.
I have proof of no claims showing 14 years in 2019 but the more recent ones only show 9 years due to the maximum accepted by my previous insurance companies. In effect I had 16 claim free years before this incident .I assume any company would be able to check and confirm via insurers databases that I made no claims in that period
So when I am getting quotes from different companies and comparison sites what no claims figure should I give?
Might it be worth visiting a broker who might be able to give a more personal quote based on my circumstances?
TheDrownedApe said:
I get annoyed with this figure and hope 5 years is the max. I have 30 years no claims but can only prove what last years insurer says is their max. Last couple have "given" me 9 years on renewal notice but never more.
Probably on the basis that the difference between 9 and 30 years without a claim is luck. That, plu the fact that the 9 years claimant may have just one claim that makes his claim and excess worthwhile; whereas the 30 year claim free, may not have been damage-free - it’s just that an damage has fallen below their excess. Insurance companies go by averaging, not by delving that deeply into peoples driving history.Evil.soup said:
Just to add to this, I recently insured a second car using zero no claims and it was effectively still quite cheap to insure. I do wonder how much difference the "discount" actually makes these days.
I got a quote for 1 years NCD and Zero NCD and the Zero was about £2 cheaper when renewing with the same company. Technically, I did not have the full years NCD when I applied, so that's what I bought. Go figure.ED209 said:
Been trying to get some new quotes today after a fault claim with esure in January this year (trampoline blew from my garden into my car), all are very high based on the 3 years no claims bonus esure now say I have.
Thing is before this claim in January I had 16 claim free years. An internet search suggests this should have only reduced by 2-3 years as a result of one claim not down to 3 like esure policy dictates.
Ultimately the amount of NCD you have is whatever your current insurer says that you have, unless you think they've misapplied their own policy. But usually it reduces by 2 years *from a maximum of 5*. If you have more than 5 years, a claim means that you drop to 3 years. So Esure's policy is pretty standard. Thing is before this claim in January I had 16 claim free years. An internet search suggests this should have only reduced by 2-3 years as a result of one claim not down to 3 like esure policy dictates.
The reason being that historically 5 years was the maximum NCD that you could accumulate. More recently some insurers, as a marketing gimmick, started to say they would recognise more years (typically 9) as a "reward for careful drivers". Which means that they gave you much the same discount; it just took you 9 years to accumulate it instead of 5. Some people thought that sounded like a great deal, for some reason. But even those insurers kept the rule that a claim when you had >5 years NCD put you back to 3 years.
In practice having more than 5 years tends not to make a great deal of difference to your premium, for good reason. Insurers don't really care what your driving was like 16 years ago. I'm a very different person to the one I was 16 years ago, and I'm sure you are too. Plus if insurers did give you credit for 16 claim free years, the flip side would be that you'd still be having to declare this recent claim, and pay extra because of it, in 2038, which I don't imagine would be a very enticing prospect either.
Pica-Pica said:
Probably on the basis that the difference between 9 and 30 years without a claim is luck. That, plu the fact that the 9 years claimant may have just one claim that makes his claim and excess worthwhile; whereas the 30 year claim free, may not have been damage-free - it’s just that an damage has fallen below their excess. Insurance companies go by averaging, not by delving that deeply into peoples driving history.
Are you really suggesting that driving for thirty years without crashing into something is simply down to luck? wong said:
Evil.soup said:
Just to add to this, I recently insured a second car using zero no claims and it was effectively still quite cheap to insure. I do wonder how much difference the "discount" actually makes these days.
I got a quote for 1 years NCD and Zero NCD and the Zero was about £2 cheaper when renewing with the same company. Technically, I did not have the full years NCD when I applied, so that's what I bought. Go figure.I suppose it might be because I'm old & the only rider of both bikes though.
ED209 said:
I can’t remember to be honest.
Regardless, I would still make the call and state that yoy had 17 years prior to the claim. I’ve had a couple of discussions with insurance companies regarding my NCD at the completion of a claim free year. They have always been happy to correct it to the previous years NCD +1 whenever it didn’t match.
Where is this 'maximum of 5 years' from?
Direct Line and the vast majority give you max NCD at 9 years. You can't 'protect' NCD until you have 4 years with most insurers. I actually have 17 and I keep policy renewals from other companies to prove it, because many firms only offer up to 9.
Absolute drivel that you'd have to declare claims from 16 years ago. They only recently increased asking about claims in the last 3 years, many now ask about the last 5.
Direct Line and the vast majority give you max NCD at 9 years. You can't 'protect' NCD until you have 4 years with most insurers. I actually have 17 and I keep policy renewals from other companies to prove it, because many firms only offer up to 9.
Absolute drivel that you'd have to declare claims from 16 years ago. They only recently increased asking about claims in the last 3 years, many now ask about the last 5.
Evil.soup said:
Just to add to this, I recently insured a second car using zero no claims and it was effectively still quite cheap to insure. I do wonder how much difference the "discount" actually makes these days.
Bugger all is my opinion, once you're over 30 anyway. I insure different cars all the time, some with my 10 years no claims, others without. Makes next to no difference. Its always under £600 for something quick, and around £250 for something not so. When there is a difference I'm talking £20-40 a year most of the time.
Occasionally I get a car that it seems to make a fair difference on, but for most run of the mill stuff it doesn't.
Gassing Station | Speed, Plod & the Law | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff