Will previous claim affect Insurance Renewal

Feebs

Hi All, hoping someone can help.

My house insurance is up for renewal in the next two weeks. I made a small claim (less than £500) in October last year for repairs to my ceiling caused by water damage due to a faulty pipe in my shower unit, the claim was settled very quickly. I have never claimed before on my house insurance and I'm now confused as to what to put in the quote forms in the claims part.

House Insurance baffles me at the best of times, if anyone can advise I'd be really grateful.

Many thanks in advance...

Shenanigan

Definately mention it to every single company or you'll be heading for a voided policy and a future of rejection from most insurers due to previous non-disclosure.

Having worked for a certain underwriter, I can safely say it will depend on the company as to whether it will affect you.

Churchill policies are generally cheap if you have 5 years NCD, but not only would you not be entitled to that, they also load the premium because of the claim.

Conversely, RBS/NW policies are generally expensive, but there is no NCD given and 1 claim doesn't load the policy, so could work out cheaper.

Also, in my (working) experience, the fact your claim was 'small' is irrelevant. Make sure every single company knows at least the cause, date, and value of any claim OR EVEN LOSS FOR WHICH YOU DID NOT CLAIM. Sorry for the bold caps, but it's very important.

Feebs

Shenanigan wrote: »

Definately mention it to every single company or you'll be heading for a voided policy and a future of rejection from most insurers due to previous non-disclosure.

Having worked for a certain underwriter, I can safely say it will depend on the company as to whether it will affect you.

Churchill policies are generally cheap if you have 5 years NCD, but not only would you not be entitled to that, they also load the premium because of the claim.

Conversely, RBS/NW policies are generally expensive, but there is no NCD given and 1 claim doesn't load the policy, so could work out cheaper.

Also, in my (working) experience, the fact your claim was 'small' is irrelevant. Make sure every single company knows at least the cause, date, and value of any claim OR EVEN LOSS FOR WHICH YOU DID NOT CLAIM. Sorry for the bold caps, but it's very important.

Thanks so much for your advice. The bit I'm confused about when filling the quote forms is what to put in the sections 'How many years No Claims Bonus do you have on your buildings policy?' and 'How many years No Claims Bonus do you have on your contents policy?'....if I put 0 (because I claimed last year), no company will provide me with a quote ?

Quentin

House insurers don't usually enquire about "no claims discount" as it isn't universally given by all insurers.

What they will all ask about is your claims history, where you will have to disclose this one claim, though this shouldn't mean no-one will quote you.

But if that is the case as you say, then see if a local broker (not swinton) can help.

Feebs

When I'm searching for quotes, these are the two questions they ask ('How many years No Claims Bonus do you have on your buildings/contents policy) and you usually need to put in a figure in, I'm unsure what to put in the box. Think I'm going to call broker on Saturday for more advice....

rs65

The no claims bonus you have is whatever is shown on your renewal notice.

Shenanigan

if you made a claim in Oct'11 then (it sounds like) you've made a claim within the last policy year, meaning you have zero NCD years.

if the comparison sites all return a list of 'Unable to provide a quote', you may need to contact insurers directly. You can probably still get cover but they may be reluctant to offer cover via comparison sites (each company might want to find out more info e.g. do you have zero NCD because you claimed, or because this is your first policy). Online discounts may be available - ask about that.

best of luck and let me know if you have other questions or if anything is unclear.

edit--
for extra clarity:

For every full policy term you have without making a claim you can earn a discount, usually up to a maximum of 5 years. If you then make a claim, this figure is reset to zero. If you had insurance from 2005 until October 2011 without claiming, you probably had '5 years No Claims Discount'. Unfortunately that claim in October 2011 will have reset your discount to zero.

This is true unless your existing company gave you the choice to protect your Discount. You will need to contact them to find out as not all companies recognise the Discount, and even less offer you the chance to protect it.

Might be worth calling them to ask.