Car insurance advice, please

altyfc

Hi there, I wonder if you can help.

I recently (and stupidly!) reversed into a neighbour's parked car. I notified them of the incident and said we would get it sorted, but I'm not sure on the best way of tackling this.

The damage to our own car is negligible (just a scuffed bumper which doesn't really need attention), but the damage to the neighbour's car is more significant, and they've had a quote of £700 for the repair.

My wife is insured as the main driver on our car (as my primary car is our other vehicle). I am listed as a second driver. We both have around 10 years no claims.

The excess on our car is £250.

I would be grateful for any advice.

Do I just pay for the damage and not put it on insurance because I'll end up paying more in the long run due to an increase in the policy? (Currently our policy for this vehicle costs approx. £380).

Do I just pay the excess and deal with it that way and forfeit my no claims discount? (My work colleague actually said it should be going through their insurance... is that right? I don't really want to put them in a position where they are having to pay their excess and forfeit their own no claims discount...)

I certainly don't want to upset the neighbour's over this. We get on well with them, they have been fine about it, etc.

Another question... does the no claims discount follow the driver or the car? I assume it's the driver... so if I make a claim, would it primarily affect the premium on our other (cheaper-to-insure) car where I am the main driver?

Thanks for any advice.

altyfc

Just been studying our vehicle policy and next to the question:

Do you require no claims discount protection (if eligible)?

...it says "yes".

Not sure precisely what this means, and this policy is in my wife's name with me as second driver, so not sure if it protects my no claims.

keith1950

If you have protected no claims then your NCD will not reduce but your premiums will rise due to a percieved increased risk.

Even if you come to an agreement between yourself and your neighbour you must inform your insurance of any accident even if you don't make a claim and your premiums will rise.

korky69

keith1950 wrote: »

Even if you come to an agreement between yourself and your neighbour you must inform your insurance of any accident even if you don't make a claim and your premiums will rise.

hows that work?
surely you don't need to include minor bumps not claimed for/against? how on earth could they ever find out if there's no proof of the incident happening?

InsideInsurance

Evidently in many cases they don't find out but if your neighbour did report the incident to their insurers for information purposes only (as they too are required to do) then that COULD be put on the CUE database which is a central system that insurers use to exchange information. After your policy next renews your insurers COULD check CUE, find the record and then accuse you of fraud for failure to declare the incident and void your policy.

Its worth noting that your excess is only payable towards your own damages so if you neighbour claims and you dont you wont need to pay any excess.

NCD is owned by the policyholder, claims history follows each driver. To fulfil the requirements of your insurance you would be required to tell all the insurers that you have a motor policy with as either the PH or a ND

altyfc

Thank you for the replies so far. Any further advice on this one?

Ideally, I really don't want to be in a situation where I'm asking my neighbours to claim on their insurance, given that I was the one to blame.

TIA.

lisyloo

I hit my husbands car in 2008. He moved it to my blindspot for a window cleaner :-(. I reckon the damage was about £500.
He claimed on my policy directly and not his own (there is no need for your neighbour to go through their own policy).
My insurer provided us with a decent (Saab) hir care that we both could drive.
My insurance did not go up very much for a SINGLE small fault claim. I stress single because if you have more claims then you will get penalised.

There is a pretty easy way to test this.
Do some quotes with your normal NCB and zero claims (assuming you have zero).
I would use real address for accuracy but false name to avoid credit check and false email and phone number to avoid calls and spam.
Record the results.
Then edit your quote (most comaprisons sites let you edit these days so all other details remain the same). Add a fault claim of £700.
There is no need to reduce NCB as you are protected.
If it's a third party claim there is no excess.
Then see the increase in premium.
Now you may have declare the claim for 3-5 years (you might choose after 3 years to go with an insurer that only asks for 3 years claims history - that's what I did).
So you need to bear in mind the increase will remain for 3-5 years but will probably decrease in size.
There is a risk you will be panlised much worse if you have another accident in that timeframe.
But it does give you a ball park.

When we did our claim I contacted my insurer not my husband.
So your neighbour can claim off your insurer direct with neither of you facing an excess.

Bear in mind you need to decalre this on ALL motoring policies (bike, car, van etc.) so there may be increases elsewhere.
My personal experience was very little impact but I was aware I would get penalised much worse if I had another claim.