car insurance database "hows it work"

beattie

hi
i have been in a dispute over no claims My last insurer SAGA issued me with a 8 year NCD When i new full well i have had a clean record for 20 years So i need to prove it because my new insurers want more money for the premium I did i traced back from 2010 and followed full Ncd with 3 insurers PO.LV.SAGA I told my broker Swinton and they have told me its all sorted i dont need to pay extra now So how did they sort it is there a national data base with my particulars on it for them to sort this issue I just would like to know how it works You sometimes wonder if you are given the full facts
regards Beatrice

keith1950

At the end of the day it's what proof you have in writing.

They have probably just caved in but you may find that any written proof they may give you in future doesn't quote 20 years.....it makes virtually zero difference once you pass 9 years.

*Scarlett

Insurers will give different max no claims discount. Some give 5 some 9+.

Could it be that you were with Saga for 3 years and they gave you their max 5 years initially which they have increased to 8 in writing?

The only thing I can suggest is to keep previous renewal notices which should state ncd. If you have continous insurance then this should prove your claims history.

beattie

thanks for the reply ,no i was with SAGA for just the year I coulnt unerstand how LV had given them 9 years and a ayear later i was on 8 The question is can A broker go to a database and sort these thngs out I could do it though rather long winded
regards Beratrice

Quentin

beattie wrote: »

The question is can A broker go to a database and sort these thngs out

The answer is no.

You need to get proper written proof off your previous insurer.

You can also keep a paper trail of all your renewals and NCD proofs, but some insurers have strict requirements which insist on a single proof from your last insurer.

*Scarlett

Maybe the max ncd Saga give is 8 years - but as stated before you can keep previous renewals as proof to a future insurer.

cjgoodsell

Depends who you get on the phone...

They may have asked Saga a question "how many years did you go to them with?" and they replied "9" and then Saga explained their max NCD etc...

InsideInsurance

There is no "car insurance database".

There is the Motor Insurance Database but this is a statutory db used just to identify the insurer of a vehicle at any point in time and is designed for the purposes of making claims off other parties and/ or enforcing insurance requirements etc

There is the Claims and Underwriting Exchange (CUE) which is multi product but not used by all insurers and is designed to help counter fraud by people making false declarations.

Neither of these systems can be used to track NCD.

NCD is not a universal thing and each insurer has its own rules/ processes. Many have a max value, most its 5 years, and having above this number is effectively pointless. Likewise many have IT constraints on their dbs that also give a maximum value their system will record up to. So my first insurance employer would give credit up to 5 years NCD and their IT system had a single digit database field to hold NCD in so the maximum they could store was 9 years

In many ways it would be better if NCD was more formalised as there are plenty of ways people can intentionally or unintentionally miss use NCD which either gives them unfair advantages or potentially harsh penalties. The problem is that to do this would cost probably hundreds of millions across the whole industry and give no one company any advantage and so will be fairly low on anyones priority list to do unless the FCA or legislation mandates it