Do insurance companies factor in driving history?

londonTiger

held license for 5 years, but only started driving 3-4 months ago.

I wonder if my ionsurance checked to see how much actual experience I have on the road, or whether they just gave me a quote based on the fact that I hel;d license for 5 years and I'm aged 27+.

I feel I'm paying a little bit more than I should, but given that I'm practically a new driver. I'm happy with that if the insurance know and have accounted for my lack of driving history.

I'd like my premiums to go down next time, I don't think noclaims will give me much. Insurance is always going up, so noclaims will just keep my cost the same. I'm hoping they have records with the DVLA about actual driving experience so that will bring my insurance down.

daisy_darling

It feels to me as if insurance companies ignore driving history, given that I pay 550 quid a year and I've got 30 years driving experience, a full licence [ bike, car, hgv ] and I've never had any points, accidents or claims.

Jeez, the blighters ought to pay me for being on the road !

ben80

If you've had your license for 5 years but only have no No Claims Bonus (they often ask if you have been driving or have access to other vehicles), they know you haven't been driving regularly. That probably factors in their money-grabbing calculations.

daisy_darling - Is that £550 after you have tried the comparison sites? Seems like a lot... though I suppose it depends on what you drive and where you live.

daisy_darling

ben80 wrote: »

If you've had your license for 5 years but only have no No Claims Bonus (they often ask if you have been driving or have access to other vehicles), they know you haven't been driving regularly. That probably factors in their money-grabbing calculations.

daisy_darling - Is that £550 after you have tried the comparison sites? Seems like a lot... though I suppose it depends on what you drive and where you live.

Yes, I tried all the comparison sites and Sheila's Wheels came up cheapest. We live in a zero crime area too [ I looked it up on that police postcodes site ]
I just think that insurance has gone daft now. I used to run an evo VIII and even with all that big BHP it only cost 300 quid !

neilmcl

londonTiger wrote: »

held license for 5 years, but only started driving 3-4 months ago.

I wonder if my ionsurance checked to see how much actual experience I have on the road, or whether they just gave me a quote based on the fact that I hel;d license for 5 years and I'm aged 27+.

I feel I'm paying a little bit more than I should, but given that I'm practically a new driver. I'm happy with that if the insurance know and have accounted for my lack of driving history.

I'd like my premiums to go down next time, I don't think noclaims will give me much. Insurance is always going up, so noclaims will just keep my cost the same. I'm hoping they have records with the DVLA about actual driving experience so that will bring my insurance down.

Of course they do, it's called NCD. The fact that you won't have any, combined with no claims made in the preceeding years, is a clear indication that you have little experience on the road, given how long you've held your licence.

fivetide

It will also make a difference to what you are trying to insure.

For example if you wanted to insure something powerful, a number of firms will look for experience on similar high powered cars and offer a discount. Annoyingly, riding a high powered motorbike doesn't mean you have experience!

5t.

jaydeeuk1

neilmcl wrote: »

Of course they do, it's called NCD. The fact that you won't have any, combined with no claims made in the preceeding years, is a clear indication that you have little experience on the road, given how long you've held your licence.

Not applicable in OPs case, but if you were on a classic car insurance or possibly under some sort of trade insurance, then that too wouldn't give you NCD, yet you could have done 30k a year

londonTiger

neilmcl wrote: »

Of course they do, it's called NCD. The fact that you won't have any, combined with no claims made in the preceeding years, is a clear indication that you have little experience on the road, given how long you've held your licence.

Not quite the same.

You could be driving for 10 years and racked up NCD for 9 years and just have a small bumper collision which wipes out your NCD to 0. So the insurer just asks you "do you have NCD?" and you say no..

That's not the same as someone whose had a license for 10 years but never driven or owned a car until very recently.

So would it be fair to assume that insurers never check with DVLA to read your road tax record, v5, mot records? Or there isn't a system similar to experian shared by insurers which details out the full and exact driving history?

Wywth

londonTiger wrote: »

Not quite the same.

You could be driving for 10 years and racked up NCD for 9 years and just have a small bumper collision which wipes out your NCD to 0. So the insurer just asks you "do you have NCD?" and you say no..

That's not the same as someone whose had a license for 10 years but never driven or owned a car until very recently.

So would it be fair to assume that insurers never check with DVLA to read your road tax record, v5, mot records? Or there isn't a system similar to experian shared by insurers which details out the full and exact driving history?

Yes, its fair to assume that insurers will not usually check with DVLA over your road tax record, V5, or mot records.
There is no system I am aware of that is similar to experian shared by insurers which details out the full and exact driving history