Urgent Advice needed please :(

delmontebanana

Hi all,

In a nutshell I had a bit of an accident with a tree on Friday last week, and my bumper has been damaged, however the engine and other bits are still running fine. Took it to the garage and they've said that the fog light and headlight's bracket are damaged and needs replacing with a total cost of around £700-900.

After I recovered from my shock of the costs, I decided to contact DirectLine and was told that I would pay £300 in excess, lose 2years out of my 4years NCB, and my renewal (on 28/08/2007) would go up from £405 to £702 - then asked if I want to proceed? I said I'd get back to them.

1.) So I'm in a dilemma now, whether I should bite the bullet and try and source some cheaper parts (ebay) and get my trusted local garage to fit/repair,

or

2.) Claim thru insurance and lose 2 years.

3.) I've also thought of a 3rd solution, but not entirely sure if it is classified as fraud, but could I renew my policy first, then claim my insurance, that way at least I could bide my time and money for one year.

Any advice greatly appreciated.

JennyW_2

I wouldn't go for option 3, you may find that the consequences will be greater than hitting the tree in the first place. Plus they will have a log of your phone call so will know what you are trying to do.

I personally would shop around and find a small garage who would carry out the work for you and bite the bullet.

I wouldn't go down the insurance route but that's just my opinion.

It may be worth your while protecting your NCB next time you renew.

raskazz

delmontebanana wrote: »

Hi all,

In a nutshell I had a bit of an accident with a tree on Friday last week, and my bumper has been damaged, however the engine and other bits are still running fine. Took it to the garage and they've said that the fog light and headlight's bracket are damaged and needs replacing with a total cost of around £700-900.

After I recovered from my shock of the costs, I decided to contact DirectLine and was told that I would pay £300 in excess, lose 2years out of my 4years NCB, and my renewal (on 28/08/2007) would go up from £405 to £702 - then asked if I want to proceed? I said I'd get back to them.

1.) So I'm in a dilemma now, whether I should bite the bullet and try and source some cheaper parts (ebay) and get my trusted local garage to fit/repair,

or

2.) Claim thru insurance and lose 2 years.

3.) I've also thought of a 3rd solution, but not entirely sure if it is classified as fraud, but could I renew my policy first, then claim my insurance, that way at least I could bide my time and money for one year.

Any advice greatly appreciated.

3rd option is a no-no. As the incident occurred in this policy year they would backdate the NCD reduction to renewal and charge you for the difference.

From the figures you give I'd say settling it privately would be best, not getting the insurer involved.

Also, I'd recommend you ask how much it would cost to add NCD protection to your next renewal.

mattymoo

Check your insurers NCD scale. Typical ones go like this.
1 yr = 30%
2 yr = 40%
3 yr = 50%
4 yr = 60%
5 yr = 65%

So you are on 60% at moment. Put another way, you pay 40% of the base premium (without NCD).
If you claim you will pay 60% of base next year, then 50% year after and 40% the year after that.
If you do not claim, you would pay 35% next year (and the following 2 yrs) and be able to protect the NCD.

So the premium difference is going to be (60% + 50% +40%) less (35% + 35% + 35%)
In addition, insurers often add a claims loading if you make a claim.

I suspect once you have done the maths, option 1 will be the most attractive.