Should I take the NCB or the refund?

flatface

I've been driving over 9 years with 5 years no claims bonus. In February I sold my car (it was shabby & no longer suitable for my job) and put my insurance (with Direct Line) temporarily on hold while I looked for a new car. I became a named driver on my partner's policy (with LV) as he takes the train to work and rarely drives.

Well, several months on and we're finding that things work really well for us as a one car family! And of course, it's much cheaper!

My insurance is still on hold but up for renewal in a few days. Direct Line have written to say that at the end of the contract if I do not renew the policy I can choose between having a refund or the no claims bonus. I'm not sure which to take. I already had a partial refund from them part way through the year so am not sure how much it will be for yet. And as I understand the no claims would only be valid for a year or two.

We looked at moving my partner onto my policy so I could keep my no claims but his existing policy is cheaper. He also has 10 years no claims so stands to lose more if we ever decide to get a second car. Maybe in the future when we have children we might need another car but this is a good 3-4 years down the line.

We're not sure what the best option is! Any advice?

marlot

Some couples alternate which of them insures the car - so one the first year, the other in the second etc.

When we went up to two cars, Aviva were happy to match my wife's no claims onto my new car as long as I stayed with them for 2 years (if I left after one year they only gave me one years NCD on the letter).

Car_54

It appears that you are now the main driver of your partner's car. Are his insurers aware of this?

If they were, would his policy still be cheaper?

I'm sure this wasn't your intention, but it could be seen that you're obtaining cheaper insurance in someone else's name, which the insurance companies don't like.

Quentin

You should be able to have both.

You still have your 5 years ncd you had at the start of the year. There is very little ( if any) advantage to having 6 years rather than 5.

Get the biggest refund you can. As long as no claims have been made they will issue you proof of 5 years

Then follow marlot's advice and keep both ncds alive by alternating

arcon5

Op has 5 years.

take the refund