No Claims Bonus

timmybear

Hey peeps...I've just had my car insurance renewal through and when i came to renew was somewhat put-out to find that having moved house, the figure quoted has leapt up by an additional £150. To that end, as my existing policy does not run out until 19th December, i have been shopping around and have found much better prices.

However, last week whilst driving in the ice, i pranged a parked car and this has will have to go through my current insurer. The girl on the phone at my insurance company was really helpful; she said when the claim is settled i will lose 2 of my 5 years of no-claims, but said that if i choose to leave them now, whilst i will have to tell the new insurer of the accident i caused, i can still tell them that i have 5 years no-claims (i have written evidence of 5 years from them) as this will still be true at the time i buy my insurance.

So, once the claim is settled by my existing insurer, will they still take 2 years off my no-claims and if so, how will they be able to do so if i'm no longer a customer of theirs? Will they even tell me if a claim is settled? Etc?

Thanks in advance.

dacouch

You were miss advised, your no claims bonus will be reduced whether you wait until the renewal or cancel and transfer before the renewal

timmybear

dacouch wrote: »

You were miss advised, your no claims bonus will be reduced whether you wait until the renewal or cancel and transfer before the renewal

Hi

i was told that until the claim was settled (if indeed a claim is bought against me at all), my no-claims bonus will remain at 5 years. By the time of renewal (in 5 days) the claim will still not have been settled and thus i will still have 5 years no claims at this time.

So my question still stands; what happens / what do i do once the claim is settled? What will my current insurer do once the claim is settled? There is no way i am staying with them because even with the accident i've had, i can still get insurance elsewhere which is cheaper than the price they quoted me even before i bumped the car!

dacouch

Your no claims bonus is reduced, should you go with a different insurer before or after the renewal date, the new insurer will ask for written proof of your no claims bonus. The proof the old Insurer will issue will be for the reduced amount either way.

They have miss advised you.

You need to make sure you declare a fault accident and your reduced no claims bonus when getting quotes

timmybear

Hi

Thanks for your replies, but i don't think i am explaining myself very well, sorry.

As it stands -like at this exact minute in time- i have 5 years no-claims bonus. My insurance for this last 12 months ends on 19/12/10. By that time, i will still have 5 years no-claims as the claim for the accident last week will not have been settled, indeed may not have even been bought against me thus far. I have it in writing already from my existing insurer that i have 5 years. My current insurer has said if i stay with them i will lose 2 years no claims when the claim has been settled, but that until such time they will not be taking any no-claims off me and i am free to say i still have 5 years no-claims at this moment in time.

What you are effectively telling me is that because i stand to lose 2 years no-claims in the future, i should be telling my new insurer that i have already lost 2 years and have only 3 years no-claims, even though my current insurer is still telling me that i have 5 years. I don't understand your reply, sorry. My question is, is what do i do when a claim with an insurer who i no longer do business with is settled?

dacouch

timmybear wrote: »

Hi
What you are effectively telling me is that because i stand to lose 2 years no-claims in the future, i should be telling my new insurer that i have already lost 2 years and have only 3 years no-claims

Yes

If you don't there is a very strong chance you will receive a large bill from the new Insurance Co when they realise you are not entitled to 5 years no claims bonus.

timmybear

dacouch wrote: »

Yes

If you don't there is a very strong chance you will receive a large bill from the new Insurance Co when they realise you are not entitled to 5 years no claims bonus.

Thanks. A 'very strong chance' is not an absoulte answer though is it, so like me, you don't actually know for any kind of a fact what to do or what will happen. I don't mind that you've replied even though you don't actually know the answer to my situation, but i always respect and think far more of people who admit they don't know something, rather than guess and/or make something up to compensate for absence of fact.

I repeat, my existing insurance company has NOT reduced my no-claims years at this point in time and has told me that until the claim is settled, they won't be reducing it either. They said that i am free to tell my new insurer that i have 5 years no-claims at this moment in time.

So, as before, my question remains the same, what do i do when my existing insurer (who, in 5 days time, will no longer be my insurer) has settled a claim for an damaged i caused? Will they even tell me when the claim has been settled? I forgot to say that i am not claiming for my car as there wasn't a mark on it, like i said it was a prang on a stationary vehicle, which i did whilst driving at something like 5 mph, and it is they who are claiming against me.

paddedjohn

you have had some good answers here but you choose to ignore them, why dont you just ring the new insurance company and ask them, but tell the truth or you will be found out in the future. dont forget to tell them about the ongoing claim

keith1950

Hi, I think we all see your logic that you 'could' get away with keeping your present NCB, however, from my understanding , you have a duty to tell your new insurer whether you have had any accidents and/or claims. If there is no claim you have still lied to the insurer if you do not declare you have had an accident,if there is a claim then it will go on the insurers database and if your new insurer finds out you could get a hefty rise in your premium or even have your insurance cancelled which would bring you further problems as you would then have to declare the cancellation on new quotes.
I think you are playing with words to justify trying to keep you full NCB. however it is a dangerous game you would be playing and it could come back to bite you big time , as I previously said, you may not have a claim against you but you have had an accident.Using your logic it would probably be acceptable to tell the new insurer about the accident and state 5 years NCB as long as you later tell them if the claim is persued and accept any subsequent rise in you premium like a man !!

bouncydog1

You may also find that your existing insurer will re-issue your renewal notice which will show a reduced no claims bonus as the fact that you have had an at fault claim (even though it has not yet been settled) will impact your renewal terms.

Suggest you have a read of your policy terms and conditions.

Quentin

timmybear wrote: »

As it stands -like at this exact minute in time- i have 5 years no-claims bonus. My insurance for this last 12 months ends on 19/12/10. By that time, i will still have 5 years no-claims as the claim for the accident last week will not have been settled, indeed may not have even been bought against me thus far. I have it in writing already from my existing insurer that i have 5 years.

You seem hellbent on shooting the messenger over this, so get ready to load up.

As advised already your renewal showing this 5 years is only "provisional", and if you use it to get the wrong NCD you will end up in trouble.

But it seems you are under another misconception.

Your current "5" years (as shown on your renewal) will have been worked out by adding one year onto the 4 you had last year.

This years NCD cannot now be awarded in the light of your claim, so you lose 2 years from the 4 you already had, and now have just 2!