No claims bonus - what's it worth?
Discussion
I renewed my car insurance recently and there was some debate over whether I had a 6 or 7 years NCB. Rather than go to the trouble of getting evidence of 7 years NCB I agreed with my new insurer that I would state 6 years as there was only a £5 price difference (ie. 1% of the value of the policy).
Are NCBs and NCB protection worth anything these days?
Are NCBs and NCB protection worth anything these days?
It'll vary per insurer, some insurance companies don't work on a set % reduction for NCB it'll depend on the risk of the policy.
Although at 5 years your usually getting the biggest discount you may see a slight difference between 7-9 years and 9-12 years but as i said it'll vary per insurer.
Although at 5 years your usually getting the biggest discount you may see a slight difference between 7-9 years and 9-12 years but as i said it'll vary per insurer.
What I've never quite understood is why you would pay to protect your no claims bonus. Say you've paid to protect it and you then have an accident. When you next come to insure your car and you ring round the companies, you have to declare all accidents/claims etc - why would telling them you've paid to protect your NCB make the slightest difference to the price you get quoted on renewal. Surely you're still the same risk so the premium would be the same? Am I missing something here?
Tomatogti said:
Am I missing something here?
Maybe.eg: Before claim someone might be quoted a premium of £1000 but they have a 50% NCD, so pays £500. After a claim the premium might be £2000 but with a protected NCD they'd pay £1000 rather than the full £2000.
This does make the assumption that the pre-discount premium is calculated without consideration of subsequent discounts (which I'm always cynical it doesn't).
Tomatogti said:
What I've never quite understood is why you would pay to protect your no claims bonus. Say you've paid to protect it and you then have an accident. When you next come to insure your car and you ring round the companies, you have to declare all accidents/claims etc - why would telling them you've paid to protect your NCB make the slightest difference to the price you get quoted on renewal. Surely you're still the same risk so the premium would be the same? Am I missing something here?
I agree, that has always struck me as a con. Sure, if you go back to the same company at renewal they'll reapply your bonus but the premium will still be loaded because of the accident/loss and any other insurer will also load accordingly.mattviatura said:
Tomatogti said:
What I've never quite understood is why you would pay to protect your no claims bonus. Say you've paid to protect it and you then have an accident. When you next come to insure your car and you ring round the companies, you have to declare all accidents/claims etc - why would telling them you've paid to protect your NCB make the slightest difference to the price you get quoted on renewal. Surely you're still the same risk so the premium would be the same? Am I missing something here?
I agree, that has always struck me as a con. Sure, if you go back to the same company at renewal they'll reapply your bonus but the premium will still be loaded because of the accident/loss and any other insurer will also load accordingly.redstu said:
I thought 5 years was the max that they gave?
Different insurers have different maximums for their own purposes. Admiral gave me proof of NCB showing 13 years; however, I should have about 16 years but at one point insured with an insurer (Tesco, I think) who treated 6 years as the maximum. So I gave them my proof of 8 years at commencement and then ended up with proof of 6 years when I moved insurer at the end of the year. Grrr!
k all in my experience. My insurance hasn't changed in years.A close friend working in the industry, quoted off the record:
"Motor insurance is a distress purchase. Avoid being abused where you can, oherwise suck it up. Or walk."
I think this is harsh but just about sums it up. All you can do is avoid (i) paying over much more than you're comfortable with (difficult, even with a "sensible" car) and/or (ii) having to claim (not entirely within your control).
- Sigh*
ZOLLAR said:
You pay to protect you no claims bonus discount not your insurance premium , so at renewal if you've had an accident with PNCB you still get the same discount but you've had an accident so are a higher risk which will be reflected in the price.
Ergo it's a waste of money. I'm not bothered how the discount is made up, it doesn't matter. What matters is the price. Which will be higher in the event of a claim regardless of whether or not NCB was protected.edited for Muppetry
Edited by mattviatura on Thursday 21st October 17:48
I’ve always thought it was a gimmick. If you’ve had 3 claims in the past 5 years (which you are obliged to mention when getting a quote) then surely a 10 year no claims bonus (thanks to protection) is meaningless.
However I guess that it is an indication of a driving and insurance record. If you haven’t driven for the past 5 years then you will have a spotless record, however a no-claims discount (which expires if you’re not insured for 2 years) proves you have been insured and presumably, driving. That must lower your risk in the eyes of the insurer.
Another oddity is that I made a claim on a classic car policy, it didn’t affect my no claims bonus which was on another policy. For some reason, classic policies don’t take account of no-claims bonus.
However I guess that it is an indication of a driving and insurance record. If you haven’t driven for the past 5 years then you will have a spotless record, however a no-claims discount (which expires if you’re not insured for 2 years) proves you have been insured and presumably, driving. That must lower your risk in the eyes of the insurer.
Another oddity is that I made a claim on a classic car policy, it didn’t affect my no claims bonus which was on another policy. For some reason, classic policies don’t take account of no-claims bonus.
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