no claims bonus - do insurers cheat?

The Running Man · 7 Sep 2006 at 13:33

hi, i was thinking about no claims bonus and its awarding and removal of for making claims etc.

the way i see it is that say u had a couple of years NCB and then had a crash, that you should still keep the NCB for the years you didnt crash (afterall no claim was made in those years).

but obviously you shouldnt get an additional years ncb for the year in which you crashed.

how can the insurers take away years of earned NCB retrospectively when you know that no incident took place in those years?

yes u will have a claim on your insurance, in the case of a claim, but should still carry your previously earned ncb ... right?

pinkaardvark · 7 Sep 2006 at 13:35

it's a bonus. Insurers are under no obligation to honour it or provide it. Plus it's a bonus for a current period without an accident, if you have one that period has ended.

benjo plz. · 7 Sep 2006 at 13:35

My dad has something like that oddly enough

. Insurers don't like parting with their money, but are fine with you parting with your's. They don't cheat, but they don't play fair either.

merlin · 7 Sep 2006 at 13:35

Jesus you must be bored today

The Running Man · 7 Sep 2006 at 13:39

pinkaardvark said:
it's a bonus. Insurers are under no obligation to honour it or provide it. Plus it's a bonus for a current period without an accident, if you have one that period has ended.

hmm i read Admirals FAQ, and they state,

"Q. What is a No Claims Bonus?
A. For every year of claim free driving, each policyholder will earn a discount towards the cost of their renewal (to a maximum of 5 years). "

so if u had 2 years of no claims then a claim, to me that still says you have 2 years of no claims, which means that you will still have these years, despite making a claim in year 3? it does not mention consequtive years or anything to that effect...

pinkaardvark · 7 Sep 2006 at 13:41

Nickg said:
hmm i read Admirals FAQ, and they state,

"Q. What is a No Claims Bonus?
A. For every year of claim free driving, each policyholder will earn a discount towards the cost of their renewal (to a maximum of 5 years). "

so if u had 2 years of no claims then a claim, to me that still says you have 2 years of no claims, which means that you will still have these years, despite making a claim in year 3? it does not mention consequtive years or anything to that effect...

Well under your new rules the majority of folks would have full no claims as the majority of folks have a period of 5 years with no claims. So basically if you rack up 5 you can then have an accident every week for the rest of your life with no repercussions

cool

The Running Man · 7 Sep 2006 at 13:44

they arent my rules, this was from the insurer website not from me...

also, yes u would have 5 years NCB discount - but claims each week which would make your premium high - but would be discounted down. so it would have an effect if u claimed.

Moorron · 7 Sep 2006 at 13:51

ive just renewed my insurance and was very lucky (but it cost me). Ive has a collector cars insurance for the last 2 year which DIDNT insure me for getting to and from work. I decided it would b best to tell them i wanted this cover and my insurance went up £150. But looking thru the paperwork it showed i had 2 years no claims which i knew was wrong.

I rang up again thinking i was going to save a packet as i had about 9 years, but they told me my insurance was a 'flat rate' one so it didnt matter what no claims i have, even tho its now insured as per normal (to work and such). The then told me when was i last insured on a normal policy (ive been with them for 2 years) and i said "about 2 years".

The guy said i need to find out as if 2 years have past without having a normal insurance policy then i loose those no claims!!!!! Luckily it was 23 months. He came back to me after i he contacted the other insurance company and said theres good news and bad news. Good news is he will now add these no claims to the ones i have with him and i wont loose them with my new policy, but i dont get a reduction in premium as its a 'flat rate'.

WARNING! be carefull u dont fall for this, i actually had 8 years no claim nearly thrown away.

Im only 28 and have 10 years no claims, i really chuffed with myself as the slowest car i have owned was my first a astra mk2 1.8 GTE, so i dont drive like a granny and must b reasonable lucky. (stop patting yourself on the back lol).

so next year i will ring around and hopefully b able to use the 11 years no claims (or whatever is classed as max) and get much cheaper premiums.

Bug One · 7 Sep 2006 at 13:51

Its quite simple. The less you claim, the less you'll have to pay. I dont see how the insurance companies can be accused of 'cheating'.

Playing on technicalities with the wording is pretty irrelevant. Its a very simple concept after all.

The only bit that makes it complicated is the 'how many accidents have you had' question and the protected no claims.

The Running Man · 7 Sep 2006 at 13:54

Bug One said:
Its quite simple. The less you claim, the less you'll have to pay. I dont see how the insurance companies can be accused of 'cheating'.

Playing on technicalities with the wording is pretty irrelevant. Its a very simple concept after all.

.

yes, its very simple concept. u dont have a claim for 2 years = 2 years ncb. have a crash in your 3rd, and u still didnt crash in the first 2 which still means u have 2 years of no claims and 1 year where u did claim... right?

Bug One · 7 Sep 2006 at 13:55

Moorron said:
so next year i will ring around and hopefully b able to use the 11 years no claims (or whatever is classed as max) and get much cheaper premiums.

Probably not. Once you get to 5 years, thats your full discount. Anything above rarely makes a difference.

Lucky you caught that one though. Wouldn't want to go back to 2 years no claims again!

agw_01 · 7 Sep 2006 at 13:55

Isn't it the case with some insurers, where if you have 4 years NCB and claim, you end up with 2 years NCB?

Bug One · 7 Sep 2006 at 13:57

Nickg said:
yes, its very simple concept. u dont have a claim for 2 years = 2 years ncb. have a crash in your 3rd, and u still didnt crash in the first 2 which still means u have 2 years of no claims and 1 year where u did claim... right?

** No.

3 years no claims means... You havent claimed for 3 years.

If you have a claim, it doesn't mean that you just forfeit the current year. You no longer have not claimed for 3 years, so why should you keep the 3 years no claims discount.

Bug One · 7 Sep 2006 at 13:59

agw_01 said:
Isn't it the case with some insurers, where if you have 4 years NCB and claim, you end up with 2 years NCB?

Probably. They try all sorts of crap to attract customers.

Like elephants 2 years NCB for driving only 10 months on their 'accelerator'. Can you imagine it. You're still 17 and you phone an insurer and try and make out you have 2 years NCB.

The Running Man · 7 Sep 2006 at 14:00

Bug One said:
** No.

3 years no claims means... You havent claimed for 3 years.

If you have a claim, it doesn't mean that you just forfeit the current year. You no longer have not claimed for 3 years, so why should you keep the 3 years no claims discount.

because u didnt claim in any one of those 3 years?

agw_01 · 7 Sep 2006 at 14:00

When my first year renewal was up, I was looking around for insurance.

I'd had my licence for 16 months and had 2 years NCB.

Figure that one out

And with Elephant... it's 1 year NCB for every 10 months that you're on their accelerator scheme. I'm on it at the moment.

Bug One · 7 Sep 2006 at 14:05

Nickg said:
because u didnt claim in any one of those 3 years?

Well. You can see it however you want.

Ultimately it will make no difference what you think unless you find an insurance company offering the kind of terms you want.

Maz · 7 Sep 2006 at 14:27

When my dad had a claim last year, they knocked 2 years off his 5 years no claims.

eidolon · 7 Sep 2006 at 14:35

I've got something like 8 years NCB so if I crash I should go down to 6 but as the maximum NCB is 5 years I assume that I'll actually go down to 3.

Is that correct?

(actually I have protected NCB too so what happens if I crash? Do I keep my full NCB?)

Maz · 7 Sep 2006 at 14:36

eidolon said:
I've got something like 8 years NCB so if I crash I should go down to 6 but as the maximum NCB is 5 years I assume that I'll actually go down to 3.

Is that correct?

(actually I have protected NCB too so what happens if I crash? Do I keep my full NCB?)

Yes this is correct, as most insurers only take 5 years ncb into consideration.

Edit : Must learn to read, missed the protected NCB bit, not sure what happens with protected NCB.