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What is the maximum years no claims bonus possible for car insurance?
The_Boss
Posts: 5,852 Forumite
Hi all,
Just received my proof of no claims form from Endsleigh after moving insurers to Direct Line. This proof of no claims says I am entitled to 9 years no claims. However, I had 9 years no claims bonus last year (although I cannot find the documentation - I did actually send in the proof of no claims to Endsleigh too but don't think I kept a copy). I've emailed them to find out, but a colleague at work suggested that 9 years may be the maximum possible anyway and that's why the proof has capped at 9 years. Is this correct?
Just received my proof of no claims form from Endsleigh after moving insurers to Direct Line. This proof of no claims says I am entitled to 9 years no claims. However, I had 9 years no claims bonus last year (although I cannot find the documentation - I did actually send in the proof of no claims to Endsleigh too but don't think I kept a copy). I've emailed them to find out, but a colleague at work suggested that 9 years may be the maximum possible anyway and that's why the proof has capped at 9 years. Is this correct?
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Comments
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A lot depends on the insurance company, some stop at 9.
But worth chasing up with your new & old company .There are more questions than answers :shhh: :silenced:WARNING ! May go silent for unfriendly repliesPlease excuse me Spell it MOST times:A UK Resident :A0 -
A lot depends on the insurance company, some stop at 9.
But worth chasing up with your new & old company .
Yep, good advice. I've sent an email to Endsleigh earlier today. Just seen that my new quote was generated by Direct Line with "9 years or more no-claims" so suggests I should not need to pay anything more if Endsleigh do not update their proof letter.0 -
Varies by company but once you get past 5 or 6 years the savings get marginal.
For me, the bottom line is what's important. I'd rather a company give 60% discount off a base premium of £500 than a company that offered a 75% discount off a base of £10000 -
Varies by company but once you get past 5 or 6 years the savings get marginal.
For me, the bottom line is what's important. I'd rather a company give 60% discount off a base premium of £500 than a company that offered a 75% discount off a base of £1000
Yeah, agreed. Direct Line were a lot cheaper, plus £50 cashback from Quidco. It's more from the point of view that I need the proof of no claims to match what I declared in my application.0 -
Difference companies "max out" and different levels. I've regularly seen 10 years as a max, my current insurer has mine down at 15 years' worth, but whether or not there are any additional benefits after a time, I don't know. The recording of it just seems to vary by insurer.0
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a colleague at work suggested that 9 years may be the maximum possible anyway and that's why the proof has capped at 9 years. Is this correct?
It depends what you mean by "maximum"
a) The biggest number you can have
b) The number at which you receive the maximum discount
If the maximum you refer to is A then its unlimited, in theory at least. Many insurers however in practice will cap the number they state as "5 or more" or "9 or more". In part this is an old IT issue as many insurers use ancient back end systems created in the days where storage and processing power was exceptionally expensive and so to have a field as a 1 digit or 2 digit number actually made a material difference in costs.
There was also bad habits of call centre agents to just type in their companies answer to version B above as around 80% of people have "maximum" NCD and so a call centre agent would almost pre-type 5 into the field to get through the call quicker rather than type 6,7,8,9 etc which would add a vital 1/2 second to the quote time. This inevitably resulted in calls to complain and so insurers started using the "5 or more" type notation on letters.
As to option B, traditionally insurers maxed out the discount at 5 years. Since marketing exploded for insurance a number have now started recognising up to 9 years. Of cause what the marketing doesnt tell you is the actual percent discount and some who recognise up to 9 years actually give a lower discount than those who only recognise up to 5 years.
Ultimately however its all a bit of marketing spin because most people have max NCD (particularly with those that only count up to 5 years) and so insurers can load their premiums and then market that they give a 90% discount because in reality thats the price they'll be giving the majority.
Keep a paper trail of all your NCDs and simply go with the insurer offering best value irrespective of marketing messages0 -
Going back in time the "standard" scale of no claim discount was 30% - 40% - 50% 60% for 1,2,3 and 4years. (Even longer algo the ncd scale started at 10%)
In a desire to attract a more profitable book of business insurers gradually moved the limit upwards to try to encourage motorist with 5,6,7yrs plus claim free driving with a headline catching NCD scale.
I remember Milestone Motor Policies had a top scale of just 50%
The bottom line is "how much am I being asked to pay" - the make up of the calculation from the insurers quote engine is of no concern to Joe Motorist, the bottom line is.0 -
Ok, so I guess new the question becomes...
If Endsleigh refuse to issue a proof of no claims with 10 years no claims on it instead of the 9 years that they have, is it worth taking this further with them?0 -
System issues are a known problem in the industry, if you still have last years showing you had 9 years plus you have this years renewal showing no claims and still 9 years then most will accept the two together as proof you have 10 years.
As above though, I dont know of anyone at the moment that gives any benefit for having more than 9 years0 -
Well I have my answer. Endsleigh replied to say the no claims proof was issued as 9 years because that is their maximum. But they can produce a form manually to confirm I have 10 years. Obviously have now requested the latter.0
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