Non-fault claim increasing my premium

clare64

Over 3 years ago I parked my car and while I was away some drove into it.Luckily they left their details and their insurance company settled the claim.
I have been shopping around for my insurance online and was asked if I have made a claim( fault or otherwise) in the last 5 years. I adv yes got a quote, then decided to see by taking off the claim (just a matter of interest - would not dare not to claim it!)if it would make a difference to the premium. Without the claim i would pay 20% less.
I telephone the insurance comapany and they said Iam seen as a higher risk,I appreciate that in some circumstances where it isnot absolutely clear cut who was at fault then this could be the case. But how can me parking my car safely and legally make me a higher risk?
NB I have declared the claim and paid the premium but I just wonder why.Can anyone explain please?
Many thanks
Clare
Clare

BertTheRaccoon

You are just statistically more likely to claim than someone who has not is the attitude of the insurers.

Their actuary team will have run numbers and there will be some data somewhere that supports this, or it is just an industry norm so they can all get away with charging more to an innocent motorist.

Probably the latter in my cynical opinion :-)

InsideInsurance

Ultimately insurers work on pure statistical analysis when you look at these mass market products like Motor. They analyse their databases containing millions of customers over a decade or more of experience and see how many claims and how much those claims cost when people have had no accidents -v- 1 fault -v- 1 non-fault etc and from those results they will apply a rating factor.

Insurers only really try to create a logic to the ratings when they are going into new territory and so there isnt the data there to do analysis on.

So, if you are seeing higher premiums when all other items are the same then either (a) your insurers have seen higher claims for those with a non-fault claim or (b) there is a commercial consideration (eg people with a claim are less price sensitive or they arent the target market so premiums are loaded to dissuade them from selecting them)

Personally, my only claim is a fault accident 3 years ago and for the insurers that appear as cheapest for me the claim makes no difference to my premium at all now that my NCD is back to 5 years.

clare64

Thanks for all your comments.
Inside insurance I have protected no claims and have not had a claim since I have been driving, 25 yrs. It's a shame that the underwriters do not look at every case indiividually rather than stats.

InsideInsurance

clare64 wrote: »

It's a shame that the underwriters do not look at every case indiividually rather than stats.

You probably wouldnt want to know the premium if there was an underwriter reviewing each quote rather than a system.

Just think how many quotes are done every day, add in the consideration that each "quote" on an aggregator is done by over 100 insurers each with their own underwriter. Insurers would have armies of underwriters doing this on an average of £32,000 salary rather than call centre agents on £13,000

Quentin

You did park the car where your assessment was it was "safe".

That proved a bad decision compared to another identical individual to you with the same previous history.

So you get a weighting on your premium and the other driver who has never made a claim at all (but now has to help pay for your repairs) doesn't.

What could be fairer?

clare64

What would be fairer is that the person who hit my car ( and any other person who had a fault claim ) should have their premiums increased perhaps more than they do.
We all have insurance premium increases every year, between the two that should be enough. I should not be penalised,especially as in your opinion,I have been paying for everyone else for the last 25 years anyway
NB the cost of fixing my car was 250.00 because they just needed to ake it roadworthy as 2 weeks later I was selling itder the scrapage scheme, so it was hardly a high value claim.

BertTheRaccoon

With the benfit of hindsight, I would have kept stum

Quentin

clare64 wrote: »

I should not be penalised,especially as in your opinion,I have been paying for everyone else for the last 25 years anyway.....

That's the idea of insurance. We all pay into the pot from which the claims are paid!

To make it fair those that don't ever claim pay less till they do.

You have taken advantage of the pot, so rightly this alters your profile.

And apparently those that have claims are more likely to have another than those that don't.

(Next time look into the consequences before making a claim over £250 - eg. do dummy quotes with and without the claim on your record and see what difference it makes to the premium before getting the insurers involved)

clare64

Having working in Private Medical Insurance for over 15 years as an underwriter and Managing a claims department I am fully aware of the principles of insurance!! ( as are most people).
Absolutely Bert, I usually avoid asking or answering questions about insurance because you can guarantee that dear old Quentin will be along inparting his 'wisdom' in his usual patronising and arrogant manor. Well done Sir you are now on yet another ignore list!!

Quentin

clare64 wrote: »

Having working in Private Medical Insurance for over 15 years as an underwriter and Managing a claims department I am fully aware of the principles of insurance!! ( as are most people).
Absolutely Bert, I usually avoid asking or answering questions about insurance because you can guarantee that dear old Quentin will be along inparting his 'wisdom' in his usual patronising and arrogant manor. Well done Sir you are now on yet another ignore list!!

Your comment was:

clare64 wrote:

I should not be penalised,especially as in your opinion,I have been paying for everyone else for the last 25 years anyway.....

This suggested you didn't understand the principles of insurance.

Indeed if you do, one might wonder why you came for the advice in the first place!

You have misunderstood "Bert"!

He was actually giving you some advice (Don't make a claim like this over just £250 without checking on the consequences)