Proof of no claims issue

burton162

Hi, I took out a car insurance policy with Bradford and Bingley insurance in November last year and notice that instead of the £27 a month I was meant to be paying, they were in fact charging me £98 a month. When I queried this, They told me this was because they had not received proof of my no claims so had re-calculated my premium as 0 years no claims. Still, its seriously pricey for a ten year old Vauxhall Astra.

I checked my last six months worth of letters and documents and never received a letter notifying me of this.

As for no claims proof, I have a renewal cancellation letter from my previous insurer Admiral saying that I have accrued 1 year with them, then I have a document from the start of my policy (moreThan) saying that I have maximum no claims bonus but with nothing saying how many years.

I have nothing on paper before this but I am 30 year old professional in a low crime postcode, I have held a full license for 12 years, I have always owned and insured a car throughout this time, I have no accidents or motoring convictions and would therefore assume I would have 12 years no claims entitlement. I do tend to change insurers every renewal because renewal prices are always more expensive than the previous year for some reason?

Surely there must be some way for the insurers to check on their national insurance databases to trace this information? Its a bit daft if everything relies on paper copies of renewals from previous insurers....

My question is: If I provided my current insurer with the two letters from my previous insurers, is this likely to suffice or will I have to try and recall my last 12 insurers and their policy numbers (for which I have no paper record of anymore). How long do insurance companies keep computer or paper records for on average anyway?

Any advice would gratefully be appreciated.

Thank You.

Valli

when you got your renewal quote from your previous insurer that should have said how many years no claims you had.

You should have sent this to your new insurers as proof of no claims. (Keeping a copy)

any previous accrued no claims is irrelevant - you just need your most recent as this is current (you could have had 5 years no cliams then claimed after that with a previous insurer)

the onus is on the INSURED (ie you) to provide proof of no claims.

You can go back to them with proof and see if they'll refund payment. If you NEVER received a letter requesting proof and they do not refund your overpayment you could complain to the insurance ombudsman. Usually they request proof at the time you take out the policy then they *may* chase it up. Without proof of no claims discount you won't get NCD.

Incidentally the insurance price is for a 30 year old driving an Astra - not just the Astra;)

You will also get cheaper insurance if you pay in full, rather than monthly. And if you HAD they would have had more reason to chase you for the information - the DD mandate gave them carte blanche to take money from your bank account - much easier, for them, than hassling you to provide them with the information you failed to send them at renewal.

keith1950

Anything over 5 years makes very little difference ( about 1% per year ) , I think 2 letters from previous insurers should therefore ensure that you get 65% NCD. - Valli -a paper trail of proof from previous insurers is usefull because you may have 12 years then go to someone who only recognises 5 years, by sending both you are showing that you had 12 years when you went to the current insurer and that the 5 years on the next is only an internal issue with that insurer and sort of confirms that you have not had any accidents etc.

Valli

keith1950 wrote: »

Valli -a paper trail of proof from previous insurers is usefullbecause you may have 12 years then go to someone who only recognises 5 years, by sending both you are showing that you had 12 years when you went to the current insurer and that the 5 years on the next is only an internal issue with that insurer and sort of confirms that you have not had any accidents etc.

I have that paper trail, Keith In a file with my paper driving licence!
But the OP would seem to NOT be so careful - or he/she might have noticed the DD difference earlier. Didn't want to berate the OP for - erm - lack of care in personal paperwork

alistair.long

Hi, I donot know how bradford and bingly.
I would do the following, call your previous insurance and get a direct line number for them or a name and away to get to them, or an email.
call BaB and get to the right department and inform them of the error, and that they can confirm the bonus with the company, give the details of the other contacts and get a time that you will get a call back.
All done, if you dont get a call back on the time stated call again and let them know, someone will eventually call your previous insurance and get a fax sent to them and it will be sorted.

If that doesnt help come back and you will have to do it a diffrent way.

Valli

I'll have what he's ^^ having

poet123

You can give your current insurer third party consent to contact a named person at your revious insurers. The other avenue is to ask them to search their database, they are often reluctant to do this as usually only the claims dept has access, so it is a bit of a faff, but it can be done if you persist.