Car Insurance - No Claims Bonus

ravenk

Hi,
I currently have a 6 years no claims bonus discount on my car insurance and just over the golden age of 50.
However I will be later this year moving to Europe (Switzerland) for 3 years. Thus I will lease a car in CH and insure the same in CH.
On return to England in three years time , will my no claims discount now be void and I have to start from scratch ?

Quentin

Could well be.

Most companies will only accept it up to 2 years old.

Check here when you come back to see what the situation is then, and if there are any companies accepting older you'll get help.

Failing that, a local broker (not swinton) should be able to help you get an introductory discount to reflect your claim free driving experience.

tasticz

Quentin wrote: »

Could well be.

Most companies will only accept it up to 2 years old.

Check here when you come back to see what the situation is then, and if there are any companies accepting older you'll get help.

Failing that, a local broker (not swinton) should be able to help you get an introductory discount to reflect your claim free driving experience.

Hey suppose if OP came back to UK on holiday or something (assumption!)

can they not take out a new policy for 2-3 weeks in say 18 months time and cancel it (obv paying the cancellation fee etc) will the ncd then have 2 years from the cancellation date or the original date?

Quentin

Yes - (though they would need to have a vehicle to insure)

(Though OP states not returning till three years):

On return to England in three years time , will my no claims discount now be
void ......

Buzby

Investigate a pan-European insurer who not only will take cognisance of your UK NCD, but be able to transfer it back (within the same company) when you get back.

My broker found just such a company when I relocated to Eire for a few years, and the switch was painless with nothing lost. There will be nothing online, but a good broker should be able to sort this for you.

zeon999

Unfortunately for you the answer is yes they would have expired as they only are valid for 2 years.

Though what alot of companies are doing these days are offering introductory bonus, so in cases like your where you have been away or had a company car so not built up NCB they will normally mirror what you have earnt in years claim free driving.

Though to do this you would need to get on the phone to a few different brokers and have proof of your years claim free driving. Obviously online quotes and comparison sites would be of no use due to the situation.

dacouch

zeon999 wrote: »

Unfortunately for you the answer is yes they would have expired as they only are valid for 2 years.

Though what alot of companies are doing these days are offering introductory bonus, so in cases like your where you have been away or had a company car so not built up NCB they will normally mirror what you have earnt in years claim free driving.

Though to do this you would need to get on the phone to a few different brokers and have proof of your years claim free driving. Obviously online quotes and comparison sites would be of no use due to the situation.

Three years since expiry with CIS last time I looked.

ravenk

Thanks for the replies.

I will look into a pan Euro Insurance Company

dacouch

You could try Zurich although there's no guarantee the UK arm will accept when you return. There's no guarantee any pan European company will accept it.

Other options when you return

Use CIS when you return assuming they don't change their criteria.

Use a broker who handle ex pats returning to the UK, brokers based near to UK military bases tend to familiar with your situation.

What you should do is keep an original copy of your UK no claims bonus dated from when you cancel your UK policy. Also ensure the foreign Insurer provides written confirmation on their headed paper confirming what period you were insured and that you had no claims THIS MUST BE WRITTEN IN ENGLISH.