Re: Car Insurance: Does claim against protected no claims result in subsequent higher premiums

Yes. The %discount is protected, but that does not prevent the insurer raising the gross premium.

-- Doug Ramage

Yes it does, or rather it should. The fundamental way in which the industry presents its premium structure to its customers is that the only penalty for making a claim is that you get surcharged by losing your discount.

If in addition to that, insurers also tinker with the gross premium, this is a fundamental abuse of trust, and it suggests you get hit by a double whammy without prior knowledge. It's just not fair, not in good faith.

Good faith? LOL this is insurance we are talking about.

It's not fair, but it's life. They do it - depending on the insurance company, a Protected NCD might indeed be just that, or it might have no effect overall because your basic premium would rise instead.

NCB is just to discourage you from making a valid claim. When my Escort got stolen last december I calculated that my NCB (which was due to become 3 years) was worth about 800 quid, or double the value of the car.

I didn't claim and this year I took out only bare minimum 3rd party cover.

Go to esure.com or another online quote system. There's a box to tick if you have made any claims in the last three years (some insurance co's ask about the last 5 years). Do yourself two quotes, one without ticking and one with. The difference in premium can be high, in addition other benefits such as protedting your NCD again may become unavailable and the 'voluntary' excess may go up.

My Mondeo got hit by joyriders, back bumper replacement was £450 of which I had to pay an excess of £100. Over the last 3 years this has probably cost me another £400 in raised premiums (2 cars).

Pete

You're right it isn't , it's insurance!

Only as far as the customer is concerned, the insurance companies are simply out to make money. If that involves upping your premium without good reason or doing what ever they can to wriggle out of paying up on a claim then that's what they will do.

IIRC, the standard is higher - namely "utmost good faith" (uberima fides)?

Latin is a bit rusty. :)

-- Doug Ramage

renewing my

to change

quotes), and

at renewal

bonus or not -

Personally I see no evidence of that. I've had a protected NCB with several different Co's, for over

As has been stated by others, your premium is calculated on your age, sex, postcode area and driving history (claims and convictions) along with your car group.

This gives a basic gross premium, your NCB is then taken off and a loading is added for the NCB protection, so if you have a claim it will not result in a higher premium, however your premiums will probably go up like everybody elses because everything these days is on the increase.

You should have no problems transferring your protected NCB to most insurers on thier terms, the good news is that many will allow 2 claims in 3 or 5 years, and some offer guaranteed NCB, which never reduces (however they can increase gross premiums if you're heavy with the claims). so they could be better than the one you now have. After you run out of strikes on your protected NCB, you then reduce in line with someone who has full NCB but no protection ie 5 years to 2 or 3.

Arfie

In my experience, they do not load you for the claim and in that sense there is a fair playing field.

However, the insurance companies rationalise the additional premium by not giving an additional discount (you do not know you are getting) for having no claims in the past 5 years (irrespective of having the no claims bonus).

Same for a single speeding offence. No loading on the basic premium but you lose the discount you did not know you had for having a clean driving license.

"Lum" wrote

Didn't the terms of the policy require you to notify insurer of *any* accident which *could* give rise to a claim (even if you didn't want to claim). Did you do so?

What accident?

"Ronald Raygun" wrote

Umm - LOL - I'm sure he only "accidentally" let the car be stolen - not on purpose - hence that was the "accident" :)