Insurance - Maintain NCB without car? (sold it)

fRostiE · 25 Oct 2021 at 14:06

Hey OcUK,

I'm in a position I've never been in before where our typical 2 car household has dropped down to 1 family wagon. My wife and I have always had our own cars and insurance policies and each have 10+ years NCB. Made the move to 1 car as working from home has gone permanent for me.

I think I'm right in saying my hard earned NCB will expire if I don't have an insurance policy in my own name in the next year, or possibly even come my insurance renewal date in May?... If anyone works in the insurance industry and knows which I'd be interested!!

Anyway my main question is, is there anything I can do other than buy really rough cheap motor and insure it to keep my own NCB alive and kicking?

Perhaps I'm over-valuing the NCB I've earned over the years, but I've always thought it was worth a hefty insurance premium discount!

Thanks in advance

Liquid_Entity · 25 Oct 2021 at 14:08

some do 1 year others 2. I am in same boat as sold my car last November and only insured as a driver on my mums car for when I need to borrow it.

edit: I also had the same quandry 11 years ago after being out of country for 19 months travelling I got back and bought a car so I didn't lose my NCB. Just had to find an insurer that did 2 years without cover to continue NCB

Semple · 25 Oct 2021 at 14:11

It'll be a gamble, i've heard some insurers will accept previous NCB's earned if your policy was with them last and you've been a named driver on another policy. But i rarely see anything like that written in stone, so you could go back to them in a couple of years and they say tough they've expired.

I think your only option really is to alternate policy ownership each year.

bainbridge · 25 Oct 2021 at 14:31

As above, alternate the name your car insurance is under between you and your wife to keep both sets of NCD going

fRostiE · 25 Oct 2021 at 15:12

Ah that's an interesting idea - thank you! So instead of the wife renewing, move it over to a new policy in my name, then 12 months later flip it back to a policy in her name.

That's probably more ideal as it would save costs vs buying something and insuring it for the sake of NCB with no intention of using it.

Does anyone have experience alternating policies like this, does it work? I cant see why it wouldn't

Meatball · 25 Oct 2021 at 15:53

fRostiE said:
Ah that's an interesting idea - thank you! So instead of the wife renewing, move it over to a new policy in my name, then 12 months later flip it back to a policy in her name.

That's probably more ideal as it would save costs vs buying something and insuring it for the sake of NCB with no intention of using it.

Does anyone have experience alternating policies like this, does it work? I cant see why it wouldn't

My partner and alternated for 3 years, and switched insurers each time too. We never struggled to find insurers who would honour NCB from 1 year ago

. I think most are within 2 years.

chroniclard · 25 Oct 2021 at 15:59

Where is your NCB actually recorded, I tend to just guess how many years its been when insuring a car and its never been an issue. :cry:

fRostiE · 25 Oct 2021 at 16:11

chroniclard said:
Where is your NCB actually recorded, I tend to just guess how many years its been when insuring a car and its never been an issue.

You should be able to request 'Proof of NCB' from your current insurer... i grabbed mine just before cancelling after selling the car recently.

I always just seem to know what I've got and add 1 to it when looking for renewal comparisons

Resident · 25 Oct 2021 at 17:22

If you've adequate space, buy a cheap shed vehicle and pop it on lay-up insurance. Usually costs pennies and keeps NCB alive.

Semple · 25 Oct 2021 at 17:57

chroniclard said:
Where is your NCB actually recorded, I tend to just guess how many years its been when insuring a car and its never been an issue.

It's now stored on a central database, that way for majority of the main providers you don't need to bother with proof of NCB anymore as they just pull your details from the database.

gc123 · 25 Oct 2021 at 18:21

my mother and father when they were alive always did it when they dropped to one vehicle and my wife and i have in the past. will be going back to doing it early next year as well when we drop to one vehicle.

chroniclard · 25 Oct 2021 at 18:39

Semple said:
It's now stored on a central database, that way for majority of the main providers you don't need to bother with proof of NCB anymore as they just pull your details from the database.

Have never bothered in 30 years driving anyway ! :cry:

pastymuncher · 25 Oct 2021 at 19:19

Proof of your NCB should be on your renewal letter. I just switched to RIAS insurance and they state that NCB must have been earned in the last three years. Never seen that before as it's usually two years.