Insurance company say my nc bonus is less than it really is

earthlover

hi folks,

I would like to know what the situation is when someone has 10 years no claims bonus and the company they are insured with us the 5 years maximum no claims bonus.

I have 10 years ncd but when I called my insurance company to tell them not to auto renew my policy they said I had 5 years. When I took out the policy last year I sent proof of my nc bonus to them and told the agent this. I said if I get a quote valued on 10 years nc bonus the new insurance company would expect to see proof of this, not proof of 5 years.
He said if I needed proof of 10 years ( actually it will be 11 years next time, all being well) they have to go to a different department to get a letter written out specially.

Why do some insurance companies have this stupid thing with 5 years maximum no claims bonus?

Quentin

5 years is normally the max you get NCB on.

If you made a claim with 11 years NCB, your entitlement would drop to 3 years at renewal.

earthlover

Thanks for your reply, Quentin. Although I am shocked at what you say. How can the insurance companies get away with that? Its a total rip off of careful motorists.

Also is there any point in me protecting my no claims bonus if it will be reduced by so much if I make a claim?

Quentin

The 2 year "fall back" is what happens when you don't have protected NCB.

If you have protected, then usually one claim means the NCB is unaffected, and only when more than one (or more - policies differ) claim is made do you start to "lose" the NCD level.

But it isn't a rip off - the way NCD is applied is set out in your policy, and will be along the lines described. (ie You cannot just go down from (say) 13 years to 11.)

earthlover

Thats exactly my point.

Why should a motorist with 11 years ncb be cut down to 3 years because of just 1 claim. Thats just a way of insurance companies to make a lot more money from motorists.

Just because it is in the policy may make it lawful but it is still a very mean way to treat careful drivers.

BruceyBonus

earthlover wrote: »

Thats exactly my point.

Why should a motorist with 11 years ncb be cut down to 3 years because of just 1 claim. Thats just a way of insurance companies to make a lot more money from motorists.

Just because it is in the policy may make it lawful but it is still a very mean way to treat careful drivers.

But with most companies, you don't get any more discount on 11 years than you do on 5 years.

earthlover

It would be interesting then, to get quotes for 3 years ncb and 11 years ncb and see if there is any diffenrence in premiums.

darich

earthlover wrote: »

Thats exactly my point.

Why should a motorist with 11 years ncb be cut down to 3 years because of just 1 claim. Thats just a way of insurance companies to make a lot more money from motorists.

Just because it is in the policy may make it lawful but it is still a very mean way to treat careful drivers.

i don't know what the percentages are for each year of NCD so lets for the sake of arguement say it's 30%, 40%, 50% 55% 60% for each year up to 5. It's still 60% after 6 years and still 60% after 26 years. So when you make a claim at any point after reaching maximum you lose two years worth of NCD and drop back to that level. In this case you'd go from 60% back to 50%. Effectively you HAVE gone from 11 to 3 years NCD but you'd go back to 3 years regardless of where you were at before claiming.

I can declare 14years NCD but i still only get 60% reduction in my premium. But declaring the 14 years tells the insurance company that i'm quite a good risk for them since i've been claim free for that length of time.

jeppy

Insurers give a discount to reward drivers for good driving and also to try and discourage them from claiming.

If you were able to accumulate 13 years and after a claim still show 11 years - no change in premium - or very little - how would that discourage someone from claiming!!

I think that this is why the maximum is around 4 for cvs, hgvs and up to 6 or 7 for private cars.

jeppy

A thought!! Perhaps, once you reach maximum bonus they could give you a % of the premium back if you didn't claim!!

nickmack

earthlover wrote: »

I would like to know what the situation is when someone has 10 years no claims bonus and the company they are insured with us the 5 years maximum no claims bonus.

If you're taking cover with a new insurer who recognises and discounts 10/11 years, then ask your previous insurer for a statement showing the number of years NCB you brought to them and the number of claim free years you had with them. Most insurers are happy to do this.