Protecting no claims bonus

[thebullettrain]

I have 6 years no claim bonus. I am renewing my policy and have the option (expense one at that) to protect them. It's not something I have done before but would like the PH community's view on whether it is worth protecting or not.

Any thoughts on how it actually works would be appreciated (i.e. should I claim I would become high risk anyway and I assume this would ramp up the next premium so how keeping my no claims bonus would effect the pricing).

[ZOLLAR]

thebullettrain said:

I have 6 years no claim bonus. I am renewing my policy and have the option (expense one at that) to protect them. It's not something I have done before but would like the PH community's view on whether it is worth protecting or not.

Any thoughts on how it actually works would be appreciated (i.e. should I claim I would become high risk anyway and I assume this would ramp up the next premium so how keeping my no claims bonus would effect the pricing).

Protecting NCB simply protects the discount you've earned.
The amount of discount will vary per insurer.

If you have an accident your premium will go up however it's likely to be higher if you lose your NCB too.
Be aware that sometimes PNCB carries an additional compulsory Excess.

[Riknos]

You've basically answered your own question in the second statement. If you made a claim, yes you would have to admit to making a claim (which puts your insurance up, obviously) But you would still be able to use your NCB, so this should still be able to make a significant difference to insurance. You can only claim a couple of times a year otherwise you lose the protection though.

Historically, protecting has not normally cost more than an extra 10% so quite odd that you say it is expensive to do so!

[Snowboy]

I consider it a waste of money.

You might keep the ncb, but the premium will still go up.
It's also (possibly) not transferable to other insurers.
Also, if you crash some companies don't remove the entire ncb anyway.

I've never bothered with it.

[ean21]

I've been protecting mine for years on more than one policy. I've never had an insurer give me any problems when I transfer from one to another - they just ask for proof of NCB and I show them my current policy.

I am entitled to x number of claims in every y years before I would lose the NCB. Obviously in the case of a claim the premium goes up, but at least I would keep the discount.

[Gribs]

It's a waste of money unless you make a claim every 2-3 years in which case you won't be offered it. It's just a nice extra earner added onto policies, much like legal cover.