Can you build your first year of NCB with a change of insurer?

stpjg01

My daughter had car insurance in her own name from her 17th birthday last March whilst on a provisional licence. When she passed her test in July the increase in premiums was too much and so she changed insurers. Her 18th birthday is coming up this March and she is about to go over her estimated mileage with her current insurer who charge astronomical rates to increase the mileage until her insurance is up for renewal in July. As she has been driving for a year is she entitled to one year's NCB as from this March?

FutureGirl

No, it will be one year NCB as of July when her policy ends.

[Deleted User]

If she's already set to pass her estimated mileage 6 months into the policy she needs to call them, if she needs to make a claim or one's made against her the insurers could use that as an excuse to cancel her insurance. That could end up costing her way more for years to come.

mattk_180

NCB is increased on the completion of a 12 month contract (or 10 etc. if you get a specialised reduced term insurance), so at present she will only have 1 year NCB in July as stated above.


You need to either increase the mileage on the current policy and put up with it in July, or change insurers again now but wait another 12 months for her to get the 1 year NCB.


The question really is - Will the increase in premium for the extra mileage for the next 6 months outweigh the discount of the 1 year NCB she will miss out on come July (usually around 30%).

Aretnap

No Claims Bonuses are a marketing gimmick used by insurers - essentially it's a loyalty discount for completing a full year's policy. It's not something you're automatically entitled to simply as a reward for good driving. Asking if you can get a years's NCD for two six month spells with different insurers is a bit like to asking "Tesco say that I can have a £5 voucher if I spend £100. I've spent £50 at Tesco and £50 at Sainsbury's... so can I have a voucher?"

Of course the "loyalty bonus" thin doesn't really work now that insurers all accept each others NCD (if they didn't they would find it very difficult to attract new customers), but the original intention behind it was to encourage people to renew their policies year after year, and in the distant past you'd only keep your bonus if you stayed with the same insurer. (Similarly Sainsburys will sometimes offer to accept Tesco's money off vouchers - not because they're under any legal or moral obligation to accept them, but just because it's a good way of poaching Tesco's customers.)

As above if she cancels her policy now she'll have zero NCD, and will have to keep her new policy running until January 2018 before she gets her first year. You/she will have to work out whether this is likely to be cheaper than increasing the mileage on her current policy, and starting a new one in July 2017 with a year's NCD.

forgotmyname

Or pay the extra to increase the mileage or park it up and find alternative transport to reduce the miles covered in the car.

When young drivers pass their test they quite often work out the distance to work or college and forget about the freedom they are gaining from the car and the mileage can increase substantially.

Pay for more miles or reduce the driving?