2 cars to 1 - insurance

[Humpy D]

Myself and my OH have our own cars and separate insurance policies with each as a named driver on the other's policy. We both have full NCD although my OH had an accident in January. But today I am handing my car back and we are going to live with 1 car. How do we stand regarding the insurance policies and NCD?

If I cancel my policy do I lose my NCD or is that retained indefinitely?

To add further complications, in February we will take ownership of a new car in my name as the lease on my OH's car ends in March.

My thoughts are to suspend my insurance until the new car arrives and then my OH cancels her insurance when her car is returned but we then have the same question as above re. insurance and NCD.

Thanks.

[Tyre Smoke]

Your NCD is valid for two years if you don't insure something else with it.

So as long as you have proof of your NCD when you lapse/terminate your existing policy, you're good for 24 months.

[Aretnap]

Generally the answer is to alternate the insurance on your one car, so you insure it one year, your OH insures it the next. That way you can keep both NCDs going indefinitely, or at least until one of you makes a claim.

Read the questions and assumptions about who is the owner, keeper and/or main driver carefully, but most insurers will not have a problem with husband and wife insuring each other's cars.

[TwigtheWonderkid]

Aretnap said:

Generally the answer is to alternate the insurance on your one car, so you insure it one year, your OH insures it the next. That way you can keep both NCDs going indefinitely, or at least until one of you makes a claim.

Read the questions and assumptions about who is the owner, keeper and/or main driver carefully, but most insurers will not have a problem with husband and wife insuring each other's cars.

^^^ THIS

[PorkInsider]

TwigtheWonderkid said:

Aretnap said:

Generally the answer is to alternate the insurance on your one car, so you insure it one year, your OH insures it the next. That way you can keep both NCDs going indefinitely, or at least until one of you makes a claim.

Read the questions and assumptions about who is the owner, keeper and/or main driver carefully, but most insurers will not have a problem with husband and wife insuring each other's cars.

^^^ THIS

Twig - since you're a man in the know on such matters, is there any way for one person to maintain 2 NCBs whilst having one car to insure?

I have 2 different policies, both with full NCB, but currently only have one car to insure - it will be 2.5yrs since I had 2 cars insured when I'm next in the position of having 2 to insure again.

Presumably having 2 proof of NCBs is irrelevant once I've gone 2 years with only one policy active?

[Geffg]

We’ve not had 2 cars for about 12 years but both have full no claims. As has been said, we alternate insurance every2 yrs maintaining each other’s ncd in the hope one day I can afford something of my own.

[TwigtheWonderkid]

PorkInsider said:

Twig - since you're a man in the know on such matters, is there any way for one person to maintain 2 NCBs whilst having one car to insure?

That's quite tricky. Probably not.

[PorkInsider]

TwigtheWonderkid said:

PorkInsider said:

Twig - since you're a man in the know on such matters, is there any way for one person to maintain 2 NCBs whilst having one car to insure?

That's quite tricky. Probably not.

Ok, cheers.

[ARHarh]

Check how much difference an NCD will make to the cost of your insurance before even contemplating messing about, unless you are young it is unlikely to make a lot of difference. My MX5 costs me £15 less with Full NCD as opposed to no NCD. Which is about 10% no where near the expected 60% expected

[Mandat]

TwigtheWonderkid said:

PorkInsider said:

Twig - since you're a man in the know on such matters, is there any way for one person to maintain 2 NCBs whilst having one car to insure?

That's quite tricky. Probably not.

Is it not possible to alternate annual policies, in the same way as the husband & wife scenario?

Keeping on top of all of relevant pipework might take time, but if you can show a clear paper trail that both policies are being used alternatively every other year, I would have thought it would be do-able.

[98elise]

I recently set up my daughter's insurance with her as owner and policyholder and me named. There was a option to select who would get the no claims. Not seen that before but it's something that would be useful for couples sharing a car.

[TwigtheWonderkid]

Mandat said:

TwigtheWonderkid said:

PorkInsider said:

Twig - since you're a man in the know on such matters, is there any way for one person to maintain 2 NCBs whilst having one car to insure?

That's quite tricky. Probably not.

Is it not possible to alternate annual policies, in the same way as the husband & wife scenario?

Keeping on top of all of relevant pipework might take time, but if you can show a clear paper trail that both policies are being used alternatively every other year, I would have thought it would be do-able.

Not really, because when you take out a new policy, they need the most recent bonus in your name. If you give them the bonus that expired a year ago, and you've owned the car for a few years, they'll ask where it was insured during the last year. If you say "my wife was insuring it" that's fine. But when you say you were insuring it using a different bonus, they'll insist on using that bonus.

It's all a bit messy.

[TriumphStag3.0V8]

Potentially you could buy a real old snotter for a couple of hundred quid and insure that. Doesn't even need to be roadworthy/taxed/MOTd if you have somewhere to store it. Not particularly practical but it depends on how much value your second NCB brings you.

If you have a classic policy anywhere, this could also be used. I have a couple of classic policies that do not earn NCB but can be used to keep NCB "alive".

[BertBert]

TwigtheWonderkid said:

Not really, because when you take out a new policy, they need the most recent bonus in your name. If you give them the bonus that expired a year ago, and you've owned the car for a few years, they'll ask where it was insured during the last year. If you say "my wife was insuring it" that's fine. But when you say you were insuring it using a different bonus, they'll insist on using that bonus.

It's all a bit messy.

Just curious, why will they insist that?

[TwigtheWonderkid]

Because they'll suspect you've had some kind of incident in the last year if you want to use a bonus that expired a year ago when you've been insuring the car for the last year.

[BertBert]

TwigtheWonderkid said:

Because they'll suspect you've had some kind of incident in the last year if you want to use a bonus that expired a year ago when you've been insuring the car for the last year.

But that would be easy to show with the ncb that was most recent.

[Griffith4ever]

ARHarh said:

Check how much difference an NCD will make to the cost of your insurance before even contemplating messing about, unless you are young it is unlikely to make a lot of difference. My MX5 costs me £15 less with Full NCD as opposed to no NCD. Which is about 10% no where near the expected 60% expected

I was going to say the same. As long as you are not young, and have a fairly good driving record, most insurers will match quotes based on the NCD you no longer have, but should, if you see what I mean. Much like insuring a second car, no NCD, and they just price it as if you had the same as on your main car / other policy. They are not idiots.

[Mr Tidy]

Griffith4ever said:

I was going to say the same. As long as you are not young, and have a fairly good driving record, most insurers will match quotes based on the NCD you no longer have, but should, if you see what I mean. Much like insuring a second car, no NCD, and they just price it as if you had the same as on your main car / other policy. They are not idiots.

Yes the matching NCD worked for me in 2014 when I first had a 2nd car which now had full NCD in its' own right.

The other option if it expires and you have a classic is that many classic car insurers don't provide NCD anyway so you don't need to have any!

[babelfish]

Tyre Smoke said:

Your NCD is valid for two years if you don't insure something else with it.

I found a company that would allow 3 years recently when I let my bike insurance lapse for well over 2.

[alabbasi]

Ahh the no claims discount, some made up BS by insurance companies to make you believe that you're getting a discount on something that you have not used.