Car Insurance Premium raise concern

sarah_id1

Hi,

I have a comprehensive car insurance. I parked my car in the car park and came back to see my car was dented in the rear. I doesnt appear major but I am not sure if I could get this fixed through my insurance company, my concern is that would impact my premium. I had heard stories where people have got thier windsreen chip fixed just to find thier premium has gone up without thier knowledge.

I am confused why would the insurance company raise my premium when it was not my fault!


Sarah

Quentin

You can get your insurer to fix the damage - but you will have to pay your excess and your NCD will be affected (unless you have it protected), and your premium will be increased at renewal because of the claim.

(Unless you can identify the third party and your insurer can get full reimbursement of their costs out of them)

forgotmyname

Because you made a claim or reported an incident that puts you at a higher risk in future.

They dont put your premium up without your knowledge, They send you a renewal with the new figures
and you either pay them or go elsewhere. Not secretive.

Any claim will affect your premium to some degree. Even with protected no claims.

lisyloo

I am confused why would the insurance company raise my premium when it was not my fault!

A "fault" claim is one where the insurer has to pay as they cannot get the money from someone else (is there CCTV by any chance).

You can check the increase by using a search engine.
Get quotes (use false email and phone number) then edit, add the claim and any loss of NCD and see the increase.
Bear in mind this will be for 3 years (probably) so my approximation would be
3* the increase plus the excess.

You might also choose to just live with the dent.
How new is the car?
How bad is the dent? are there any places where the paint has come off completely where it might rust?
Will it make a huge difference to the value?

Up to you, but if you are keeping the car for a while and it isn't hugely valuable or new you could just choose to put up with it.

sarah_id1

My car is not new so I can live with the dent. But I still dont understand if someone is paying extra quid on top of the basic insurance for windscreen cover AND the insurance company are not going to fix it without the premium being raise the following year, than whats the point of buying that extra windscreen cover. I might as well fix it myself.

Paying £1K+ for car insurance seems to be rip off to me when the insurance company anyways recover the cost (if any) by raising the premium from the following year.

lisyloo

AND the insurance company are not going to fix it without the premium being raise

I don't know whether all companies raise premiums after a windscreen chip, so I think you need to check that out rather than extrapolate from one case.

than whats the point of buying that extra windscreen cover. I might as well fix it myself.

Correct.
If a claim does result in higher premiums then there is no point making "small" claims.
You may as well "self-insure" i.e. not pay the premium and fix it yourself.

I had a wheel damaged by a pothole last year and a new wheel was £700.
It was not worth me claming for that amount.
The reason is that I'm currently on 3 policies (2 bikes, 1 car) so it would result in 9 premium increases across 3 years and possibly 12 if I have to get my self a car at any stage.
(In the end I got the wheel straightened for £80).

Paying £1K+ for car insurance seems to be rip off to me when the insurance company anyways recover the cost (if any) by raising the premium from the following year.

They don't recover their costs (which would be impossible for big claims).
They simply reflect that you are now a higher risk (not a worse driver but at risk of claims from where you park).
You are correct for small claims, they are not worth making and not worth having insurance for (if you can avoid it).
For windscreen cover you have a choice, but do check your basic premise. You are extrapolating from one case and just because one person thought they paid extra does not mean the entire industry does that it might be jsut one comapny (plus they could be wrong and the increase might be down to something else).

Helen_J_3

sarah_id1 wrote: »

I am confused why would the insurance company raise my premium when it was not my fault!

Because they will find any way to make more money out of you :shhh:

mikey72

At least no one has told you you need to inform the insurance company, even though you are not making the claim. It you don't they won't find out any other way, (unless you feel the need to confess later), and so will miss the opportunity to increase your premium anyway, as they now realise you will be happy to pay more.

Quote

Good grief.