What car insurance companies consider NCD over 2 years old?

hardingmd

I was previously insured and accumulated 3 years NCD however living in London, I sold my car and my insurance expired in July 2007. I'm now buying a new car and my previous insurer will take the NCD into consideration but their quote is high.

Do you know of any other insurance companies who will take a NCD into consideration up to 3 years instead of the usual 2? I'd like to get the price down if possible or I'll just have to go with my previous insurer and investigate moving next year with (hopefully) 4 years NCD.

Quentin

You don't say who you are with, but Aviva let you bring NCD that is up to 3 years old.

hardingmd

Sorry for that. I was with Churchill previously. I've just checked out Aviva too and unfortunately it's pretty similar to Churchill for this car at around £900.

There are companies like Likewise, Direct Choice, Cornhill Direct, Endsleigh and The Co-Op all coming in at under £600 but there are so many, it would take me an age to call them all, be put on hold through their call centre, and then find out if they will consider by 2 and a bit year old NCD. Any other suggestions?

Quentin

You could weigh up the costs involved in taking out the cheapest policy (with your "old" NCD), then cancelling after a short time.

You would then get a current proof of your 3 years NCD to take elsewhere.

hardingmd

According to Churchill, I would need to be with them for 12 months before they would be able to issue me with a no claims certificate. I'm not sure if this is valid but it stands to reason that they would be reluctant to lose my business if they can legally retain it.

lisyloo

You could try using a broker.
As they deal with insurance every day, they might know which companies do this.

Quentin

hardingmd wrote: »

According to Churchill, I would need to be with them for 12 months before they would be able to issue me with a no claims certificate. I'm not sure if this is valid but it stands to reason that they would be reluctant to lose my business if they can legally retain it.

Churchill must be doing you a "special" deal. (Presumably as you are a former "valued customer"). They normally only accept NCD up to 2 years old.

So maybe they can attach conditions to it as it's a "one off" deal!

Other insurers would just issue you with a current proof of NCD were you to cancel mid term.

hardingmd

Exactly right. Churchill will accept NCD up to 3 years if you previously went with them. They have already validated that I have 3 years NCD accumulated and confirmed that they will accept it.

I would imagine that they would try to make my life as difficult as possible if I renewed with them and then tried to cancel, taking my 3 years NCD with me. It would certainly be helpful to know if they would give me a proof of NCD if if they wouldn't do that until 12 months has passed. Maybe I won't find out unless I actually renew and then ask...

Quentin

As they are doing a "special" deal, get it in writing from them that you will have 4 years NCD at the end of a claim free year (some companies are known to confuse by saying they give a discount "equivalent" to your expired NCD when in fact they are giving you a one off discount, and at the end of a claim free year you end up with just one year's NCD).

Also if Aviva appeal to you and are competitive, then get a quote via a cashback site (they are currently paying up to £52 cashback depending which site you use) which might make them cheaper, with no hassle over keeping the NCD.

hardingmd

lisyloo wrote: »

You could try using a broker.
As they deal with insurance every day, they might know which companies do this.

Good point. I'll do that and see what they say. If insurance + broker fee is less than £900 and I get to keep my 3 years NCD then I'm quids in. :T

hardingmd

Thanks for the advice both. I'll do a bit more legwork on this and post back when I find out some conclusions.