Minor Damage Protection Insurance

Sterlingtimes

I couldn't find any information about Minor Damage Protection Insurance upon searching these fora.

My son is a young driver and I took the precaution of taking out the self-standing insurance provided by Vauxhall.

My son has damaged both his car and mine.

The most likely claim to his car falls under the following head, "Scuffed Bumper up to 20cm in diameter within 1 body panel". We will have to take a photograph alongside a tape measure.

Has anyone, please, claimed against such insurance and had experience with such a claim?

thescouselander

I've never heard of minor damage insurance but if he did claim this might be notifiable as an incident to his main insurer which would put his premiums up. Might be worth checking this out first before claiming.

dacouch

Sterlingtimes wrote: »

I couldn't find any information about Minor Damage Protection Insurance upon searching these fora.

My son is a young driver and I took the precaution of taking out the self-standing insurance provided by Vauxhall.

My son has damaged both his car and mine.

The most likely claim to his car falls under the following head, "Scuffed Bumper up to 20cm in diameter within 1 body panel". We will have to take a photograph alongside a tape measure.

Has anyone, please, claimed against such insurance and had experience with such a claim?

Is this the only damage to his vehicle?

If there is other damage from the same incident that does not fall into what they cover, they may not cover any of the damage.

Sterlingtimes

thescouselander wrote: »

I've never heard of minor damage insurance but if he did claim this might be notifiable as an incident to his main insurer which would put his premiums up. Might be worth checking this out first before claiming.

Thank you. This stands entirely separately from the main car insurance. So one may for instance scrape the car on the garage doors. I presume that it would be notifiable if the incident were more than minor, particularly where a third party is involved. But you point is a good one.

Sterlingtimes

dacouch wrote: »

Is this the only damage to his vehicle?

If there is other damage from the same incident that does not fall into what they cover, they may not cover any of the damage.

Yes, this is the only damage.

GTE_Boy

Sterlingtimes wrote: »

Thank you. This stands entirely separately from the main car insurance. So one may for instance scrape the car on the garage doors. I presume that it would be notifiable if the incident were more than minor, particularly where a third party is involved. But you point is a good one.

Unless it's covering a stole chip or damage to a wheel from say a pothole then everything will be noticeable to an insurer. If you're claiming for damage and they are recording it your insurer may find out so you best tell them as it could work out expensive if they void a future claim.

Sterlingtimes

GTE_Boy wrote: »

Unless it's covering a stole chip or damage to a wheel from say a pothole then everything will be noticeable to an insurer. If you're claiming for damage and they are recording it your insurer may find out so you best tell them as it could work out expensive if they void a future claim.

I do wonder about this. Both the car insurance and the minor damage insurance are sold by Vauxhall (Lookers). Really, Vauxhall oughtn't be selling the same insurance risks twice albeit that they are covered by separate underwriters. Therefore I presume that the insured will choose select the insurance that applies relative to the outcome. The main car insurance carries an excess that would make most claims for minor damage of no value and in practice few would claim. So would anyone declare minor damage to their car to the main insurer if he or she had decided not to effect a claim? I will seek to check further where a minor damage claim has to be declared to the main insurer: that would rather offset the value of the insurance.

thescouselander

AFAIK most insurance companies ask if you've made any claims or had any incidents over a set period of time. I dont think this statement refers to only the main policy and it's quite probable a statement like this would cover claims against any insurance to do with your vehicle.

GTE_Boy

Sterlingtimes wrote: »

I do wonder about this. Both the car insurance and the minor damage insurance are sold by Vauxhall (Lookers). Really, Vauxhall oughtn't be selling the same insurance risks twice albeit that they are covered by separate underwriters. Therefore I presume that the insured will choose select the insurance that applies relative to the outcome. The main car insurance carries an excess that would make most claims for minor damage of no value and in practice few would claim. So would anyone declare minor damage to their car to the main insurer if he or she had decided not to effect a claim? I will seek to check further where a minor damage claim has to be declared to the main insurer: that would rather offset the value of the insurance.

Only the main insurer can answer that and the answer will be yes. And as your son has already damaged two cars do they know?

Sterlingtimes

A little more here in the marketing of these polices

SMART Insurance
How does Scratch and Dent Insurance work?

“Sometimes referred to as SMART Insurance, this cover will pay for small cosmetic repairs such as stone chips, scratches, small dents, scrapes and scuffs. Unlike your motor insurance, making a claim on this policy will not affect your No Claims Bonus or impact on your insurance claim record”. https://car2cover.co.uk/smart-insurance/

The seller says that a claim under this policy will not "impact upon your insurance claims record".

Then it adds the following:

"Making a claim on your fully comprehensive motor insurance for Screen Shot 2015-09-13 at 22.03.15 minor cosmetic repairs would damage your insurance claim record and ultimately increase your premiums in future. It may also cost you an insurance excess payment."

SMART states that the policy will not "increase your premiums in future" or result in "an insurance excess payment."

The marketing strongly suggest that claiming under the SMART policy will not impact upon the main insurance.

GTE_Boy

Sterlingtimes wrote: »

A little more here in the marketing of these polices

SMART Insurance
How does Scratch and Dent Insurance work?

“Sometimes referred to as SMART Insurance, this cover will pay for small cosmetic repairs such as stone chips, scratches, small dents, scrapes and scuffs. Unlike your motor insurance, making a claim on this policy will not affect your No Claims Bonus or impact on your insurance claim record”. https://car2cover.co.uk/smart-insurance/

The seller says that a claim under this policy will not "impact upon your insurance claims record".

Then it adds the following:

"Making a claim on your fully comprehensive motor insurance for Screen Shot 2015-09-13 at 22.03.15 minor cosmetic repairs would damage your insurance claim record and ultimately increase your premiums in future. It may also cost you an insurance excess payment."

SMART states that the policy will not "increase your premiums in future" or result in "an insurance excess payment."

The marketing strongly suggest that claiming under the SMART policy will not impact upon the main insurance.

No, you're choosing to read it that way.

Anyway what have you sons insurance done about the two cars he's damaged when he told them?