Insuring 2 cars - possible boring thread content!

[RevoEvo7]

Could be a bit of a non-thread this one. How does one go about insuring two cars?

Let me explain; I have had my licence for 8 years and have only ever had one car at any one time, however now circumstances have changed I can afford to buy and run 2 cars (one being my daily and the other being a weekend/holiday/spare car). So I have 8 years no claims on my policy.

A few questions -

Do I just take out another policy on the other car? And if so do I have to tell the other company (assuming it's different one) that I will be driving another car?

Presumably I can't use my NCD for the other policy ie will be starting from scratch? But will they know I have the NCD?

Do you think it will beneficial to use my NCD on my daily or the weekend car? The weekend car will be more expensive but used less or use it on the daily which is cheaper car but used more - or is that asking how long is a piece of string as it depends on the models/insurance companies?

Do you think a multi car policy from one company is the way to go? Again will they be cheaper by accepting the NCD?

Apologies for all the questions. Any input will be appreciated.

If it helps the cars will be a W204 C180k daily and weekend car Alfa Brera V6. Not bought either yet but will be buying them simultaneously replacing a rather decrepit Golf diesel.

Thanks

[MiniBeej]

What second car are you buying? If it's classic or modern classic your NCB won't matter in most cases and you should be able to insure it on a specialist policy.

You are correct about NCB, you can only use it one one policy at a time but some insurers can 'mirror' it for you and offer a discount on the premium.

Edited by MiniBeej on Friday 7th February 15:15

[thatdude]

You can get multicar insurance, or you can get two seperate policies, I dont thnik it really matters except on price (do your research here, a multicar policy might not always be a money-saving alternative). I'm not sure about the no claims...

[pidsy]

i found that multi-car policies were more expensive than 2 separate policies.

then i found that my insurer will mirror my NCB on the second policy. well worth checking your insurers stance on mirroring OP.

[douglasb]

You have a couple of options, however you are correct in saying that you can only use your existing NCD on one car.

Option 1 - just take out a completely new policy on the new car. You will be starting from scratch with no NCD (although some companies will give you an introductory discount based on your driving experience). Your renewal dates for current policy and new one will be different.

Option 2 - get a multicar quote. You will still only be able to use the NCD on one car but you will get a discount for the second one. One renewal date in future so easy to shop around. You need to cancel your existing policy though and may not get anything back depending on how far into the policy year you are.

Either way, you will have separate NCDs on each car so if you have a claim on one you will not lose any NCD on the other (although you need to inform the other insurer of the claim).

Experiment with the NCD on each car when you get the online quote to see which way round is better for you.

I was recently in the same position as I bought a "weekend" car. I went for the second option. As I am an IAM member I spoke to Adelaide Insurance about a new policy for the second car and was quoted a stupid price. Got an online multicar quote and as this was about 60% (for both cars) of what Adelaide wanted for the weekend car I went back to Adelaide and suggested that they try harder. They came back with an even better deal! I had to cancel my main insurance which was about 7 months in but the unused section was refunded pro-rata.

(My figures were that I was paying £450 for comp on a Jaguar XF, full NCD, 24K miles pa including business use, guaranteed hire car, protected NCD. Wanted to add a Boxster fully comp, 3K miles pa, no business or commuting use - first quote £1500!. Admiral wanted £870 for both. When I showed Adelaide the Admiral quote they did the XF for £500 and Boxster for £350 and the previous insurer refunded £200).

[Slidingpillar]

Does not apply to all insurance companies, but if you've been with one for a few years, they may give an exceedingly large discount if you insure both cars with them. The exceedingly large discount I got for the vintage car was pretty well a full no-claims discount.

If you don't ask though, you won't get.

[ollygogs]

try pace ward insurance they have done me 2 cars on one insurance and i can add too it too when my work truck and motorhome cum up for renewel

[vikingaero]

When I was thinking of buying another car I ran some quotes through the various comparison sites and came out with a premium of £3-400 depending on the car with zero no claims.

We insure the family bus through Axa and I called them up. They've mirrored my 20+ years of no claims and given a 10% discount. Total premium was around £180.

[goneape]

Strikes me as mental that the NCD travels with the car not the driver. You can only drive one car at a time after all.

[B17NNS]

goneape said:

Strikes me as mental that the NCD travels with the car not the driver. You can only drive one car at a time after all.

Very much this. Worth speaking to a few different insurers though. I've got 19 years NCD which I use on my main policy for a van with MoreThan. My car is insured through Mannings and they will discount on that NCD basis.

[GT03ROB]

goneape said:

Strikes me as mental that the NCD travels with the car not the driver. You can only drive one car at a time after all.

Look around. If you stick with mainstream insurers, you get mainstream solutions!

[Zoobeef]

Just get a company to match the no claims. They dont have to both be insured with the same company either.

[Easternlight]

goneape said:

Strikes me as mental that the NCD travels with the car not the driver. You can only drive one car at a time after all.

Only being able to drive one at a time wouldn't stop you righting them both off in a day though!