Car insurance cowboys

andymc29

I had some vandalism to my car 18 months ago, the windscreen got smashed and they had to replace it and the side panel that goes down the side of the screen. I had to pay £300 excess and then my insurance went up by £300 five months later when I went to renew it. Fair enough I thought, as I had just made a claim.

But now I've just ran some quotes though GoCompare, as it's due at teh start of May, and the claim I made 18 months ago (which also causes my no claims to be 1 year instead of 6), still makes a huge difference, of between £250 and £300!!!! This means this claim that happened 18 months ago when my car parked outside an old address that I don't live at anymore is costing myself up to £900 in total!!!! :eek: the repair itself only cost £300 to the insurer as I paid £300 excess. WHY DO WE EVEN HAVE INSURANCE IF YOU HAVE TO PAY THE WHOLE COST OF THE REPAIR AND MORE YOURSELF??????

It doesn't suprise me that we have so many un-insured drivers when this is how they treat the honest insured ones!!!! :mad:

Any tips people??? Can they still be penalising me for something that wasn't my fault that happened at an old adress I now live 20 miles from???? May be I could phone them to explain?

Judith_W

I'm sure the main reason why your insurance is costing more is because of your no claims reducing so much, you are a much higher risk in their eyes.

dunstonh

This means this claim that happened 18 months ago when my car parked outside an old address that I don't live at anymore is costing myself up to £900 in total!!!!

Correct. When you make a claim, you expect it to impact on your applications for around 3 years (ignoring the no claims discount)

WHY DO WE EVEN HAVE INSURANCE IF YOU HAVE TO PAY THE WHOLE COST OF THE REPAIR AND MORE YOURSELF??????

You should have considered at the time the consequences of making a claim. Many small cost repairs are better being paid for yourself and not using the insurance.

Any tips people??

its a bit late now as you cant change the past. Remember in future not to put in claims for small amounts as they will end up costing you more.

keeley1973

andymc29 wrote: »

Any tips people??? Can they still be penalising me for something that wasn't my fault that happened at an old adress I now live 20 miles from???? May be I could phone them to explain?

It is likely that you will incur increased costs for all the time you are required to declare it on your insurance (most companies ask for details for 5 years) . You are right you are getting penalised twice, once for the 'fault' claim and once for the reduction in NCB) However, it is sometimes possible for you to pay back the claim and effectively make it like it did not happen. I have personally done this a few years back. Basically, if you can pay your Insurer at the time, the money it cost them to repair then they are not out of pocket and should reinstate your No Claims Bonus. I worked out the costs with and without doing it and what I had to pay them at the time (£300) was far and away much less than the impact it would have had over the next 3 - 5 years. Check with those Insurers to see what the amount is and then run a few renewal quotes with max NCB to see how you differ (you might still have to declare the incident - depends on how the new Insurers word their claims question but obviously can go as a non fault/no reduction in bonus). Good luck.

andymc29

You should have considered at the time the consequences of making a claim. Many small cost repairs are better being paid for yourself and not using the insurance.

How was I meant to do that when I had to get the car towed somewhere to have it repaired and wouldn't have a clue what the repair cost. And are you really saying £600 is a small cost that you have not claimed for? the simple fact is, if it's costing me more through increased premiums than if I'd just paid to get it repaired then the whole system in totally flawed and unfair. How can I still be seen as an increased risk when I have moved address and it wasn't my fault that the damage happened? I'm going to have to phone them to see if this really has wiped out my no claims bonus because it's stupid.

david39

Another contributory factor may be that the postal code that you have moved to could be a higher risk area than the one you lived in before.

http://www.carinsuranceexplained.com/car_insurance_explained/insurance_postcode_risk.htm

I was surprised to find that I was in an E-rated area when I looked - thought it would be at the worst a C !!!

andymc29

Okay, I've checked my current policy, it states that I have 3 years NCD, and also shows the claim from December 2009. So I can only assume that I lost one year NCD and not the whole thing. I will therefore declare the claim and also state that I now have 4 years NCD for my renewal. I've checked on GoCompare and this seems to bring the renewal quote down around £100, which is better than nothing.

I've checked my postcode, I moved from a B to an A so that should have made it cheaper, I'm also parked in a driveway instead of on the street.

dunstonh

And are you really saying £600 is a small cost that you have not claimed for?

in a low risk area and low risk individual then a small claim may not have as much impact. In a high risk area or high risk individual it will. So, my answer to your question would depend on the impact on premiums.

the simple fact is, if it's costing me more through increased premiums than if I'd just paid to get it repaired then the whole system in totally flawed and unfair.

Not really as insurance pricing is based on risk and cross subsidy of the insured pool. If someone pays £600 in premiums and suffers a claim that costs £300,000 then they are not going to pay premiums that reflect that size of claim. Just as someone with a £300 claim isnt.

How can I still be seen as an increased risk when I have moved address and it wasn't my fault that the damage happened?

Are you sure that the change of address is lower risk? Statistically, someone involved in an accident, whether its their fault or not, is more likely to suffer another claim in the short term afterwards. It doesnt mean you will. It just means that the collective pool of people that have had a recent claim are more likely to have another one than those that have had no claim.

I'm going to have to phone them to see if this really has wiped out my no claims bonus because it's stupid.

The jump in premium does suggest more than just a non-fault claim being recorded.

andymc29

It just means that the collective pool of people that have had a recent claim are more likely to have another one than those that have had no claim.

due to the nature of my claim and the fact that I have now moved areas and the car is now in a parked position where it much less likely to get vandalised, the chance of me making a claim soon after is very much lower than the average. Also, the claim was over a year ago now.

Still, like I said, my current policy shows 3 years NCB so I'm going to buy a renewal based on 4 years NCD and still declare the claim, I pay a little more but not as much as if I thought I have no NCD.

dacouch

david39 wrote: »

Another contributory factor may be that the postal code that you have moved to could be a higher risk area than the one you lived in before.

http://www.carinsuranceexplained.com/car_insurance_explained/insurance_postcode_risk.htm

I was surprised to find that I was in an E-rated area when I looked - thought it would be at the worst a C !!!

The postcodes and rating areas the link quotes is from Aviva's motorcycle guide from many many years ago. It is not in anyway an accurate guide to car insurance or even motorcycle insurance now days