Car Insurance: help needed with No Claims limit?

hybernia

Sorry to have to add another car insurance thread to this board but I've a question about No Claims Discounts which I can't seem to find an answer to elsewhere.

Husband and I are both retired and have Saga motor insurance. We've been with Saga for three years. We unfortunately had to make a claim in year 1 for damage caused through our fault (actually it wasn't, but it occurred in Spain during our motoring holiday there and we were powerless to dispute it.)

Neither husband or I have any criminal or motoring convictions and we've both been driving for more than 40 years. In March 2009, our premium for fully comp, legal protection, and protected NCB was £232. We thought this was good value as the car's value is fairly high and it's a 170PS TD engine (husband knows what that means even if I don't.)

At renewal time last year, the premium had increased to £317. But Saga sent a note through with the renewal saying it would beat any alternative quote we might like to get. So we looked at alternatives and Churchill came in at £201 for the exact same policy (same terms, same excesses.) We passed Churchill's quote to Saga and Saga came back with a revised quote, down from £317 to £195, this to be paid by quarterly Direct Debit interest free.

So our 2010-2011 insurance was less than 2009-2010. And Saga's interest free DD scheme was, obviously, a great bonus.

Saga has now sent us a renewal notice for 2011-2012, up from our current £195 to £227. (Which is still less than what we paid in 2009-2010.) Saga is also offering us another beat-rival-quote guarantee.

So good, so far. However. . . Looking at the documents we see that our No Claims Discount was set at 60% for 2010-2011, which was the figure we used when getting alternative quotes.

Our renewal notice for 2011-2012 also quotes our latest NCD. . . but it's still 60%.

I know nothing about car insurance, but always thought the longer you went without a claim, the higher your NCB rose. As we didn't make any claim in the last 12 months, I thought our 60% NCB would have risen?

Please note, I am not trying to be greedy or anything; it's just that when getting an alternative quote, I need to state as accurately as possible (in my own interests!) just what NCD I'm entitled to, according to my current insurer, based on my claims record.

But getting an alternative quote for 2011-2012 based on a No Claims Discount of 60% for 2010-2011 doesn't seem right.

I'm reluctant to ring any insurer for a discussion about premiums unless well-armed with information first. So I wondered if any insurance experts or at least those with more knowledge than me (there must be many!) could clarify:

1) Is there a "standard" sliding scale used by all insurers relating to No Claim Discounts?

2) Is there a "maximum" No Claim Discount beyond which no insurer will go?

3) Is a 60% No Claims Discount now the maximum?

4) Or does it look as though Saga has made a mistake in our case, and has forgotten to increase our NCD for 2011-2012 to reflect the fact that we have made no claim of any kind in 2010-2011?

Sorry to be a nuisance but advice would really be helpful!

:undecided

Quentin

It looks like you have hit the saga maximum discount. (Confirm this by reading the policy documents)

Different insurers have different maximum NCD.

But the issue isn't who has the biggest maximum NCD - but (if looking at premium only to decide which insurer to use) which net premium is the lowest.

Mr_Man_Full_of_Love

A quick look at the Saga FAQ on their website reveals that:

"No Claim Discount (NCD) is an earned discount that is applied for every year that a driver has insurance on a car without making a claim. Saga’s maximum No Claim Discount is four years, which equates to a 60% discount."

You need to check each insurer individually. Axa go up to 90%.

hybernia

Sincere thanks to Quentin and Mr Man for the instant help! I must be a numpty, I never thought to check Saga's website.

Having hit Saga's 60% maximum then (four years no claims) does that query the pitch for us with other insurers?

Sorry to ask this, but if one is "stuck" at 60% forever, and seeks a quote from elsewhere, does that mean we're going to be at a disadvantage?

I'm thinking here of Mr Man's note about Axa -- if, just for example, two people had an identical No Claims period, but one was with Saga and stuck at 60% but the other was with Axa and had reached 80%, would that mean the Axa customer was better placed to get an alternative quote? Or does someone's existing NCD percentage total not count for much when another insurance company is asked to come up with a quote?

(As will be appreciated, I really don't understand how insurers work. Also in view of the way so many here are saying car insurance has "rocketed", I'm not having a go at Saga because the renewal premium increase doesn't seem that excessive.)

Thank you again to Mr Man and Quentin. :T