Is protected no claims really protected?

lisyloo

if you pay back the claim to the insurer then the insurer is suffering no loss

No but the person paying would be suffering a loss exactly the same as if they would if they repaired the car direct.
So why do they have to declare a loss for repairs following an "incident" but not a loss following an incident, claim and then repay???

Thanks for your help but I think I must be missing something.

Phoebe-

StephenMarsh wrote: »

This isnt true if you decide not to proceed with the claim and your insurers pay nothing out then you wouldnt be penalised in any way even if the cliam has been paid you still have the option of paying back the claim and thus no impact on subsequant insurance policies (tho this tends not to be cost effective)

Protected NCD is just that protects the bonus youve earned it does not protect the price. Following any fault claim most insurers will still load your premium because you are now (and rightly so) deemed a greater risk. However by protecting your bonus your still saving 2 years NCD which equates to around about 20%

In the OP situation I would get an independant quote or ask the garage in question to quote for the repairs if it was to be paid and not gone through insurance as most garages inflate repair costs if they know or think an insurer will be paying

I work for a car insurance company....and it does still effect you. It gets recorded as an 'incident' ie. a 'no claim' but it's still on your file for 3 years.