When is claim not a claim

Sea_Shell

Surely something that is not covered is a bit of a stretch to log it as an "incident that may result in a claim", as it won't, by definition.

SonOf

I can sort of see it from that side but equally (and using car analogy) if I were to claim after someone has hit my car, does that make it more likely I am going to be hit again ? I don't think so.

Actually it does. Statistically, someone that claims on their car insurance is more likely to have another claim in the short term.

This was because of 2 "claims" I had made in 2016 and 2018. After racking my brains I remembered 2 phone calls as to whether I could claim and/or was it worth it.

Most people go through life never having to claim on a household policy. You have tried to claim twice in 2 years. That makes you a higher risk for the insurer.

Premiums are priced on risk.

eddddy

Sea_Shell wrote: »

Surely something that is not covered is a bit of a stretch to log it as an "incident that may result in a claim", as it won't, by definition.

The definition is "incidents... which may or may not give rise to a claim".

I'd guess that it's based on statistical analysis.

Maybe it's because people who keep phoning to ask "ABC happened, am I covered?" are keen to make insurance claims for anything and everything. So they're more likely to make valid claims in the future.

Sea_Shell

eddddy wrote: »

The definition is "incidents... which may or may not give rise to a claim".

I'd guess that it's based on statistical analysis.

Maybe it's because people who keep phoning to ask "ABC happened, am I covered?" are keen to make insurance claims for anything and everything. So they're more likely to make valid claims in the future.

I can see some logic in that, but take an extreme example...

What if I stubbed my toe on my bedframe and rang my Insurers to see if I could claim for a broken toe? They'd obviously say no...however under the above definition it's an incident that may or may not give rise to a claim.

Where do you draw the line between something that is NOT covered (and never would be) or something that's just not covered under your particular policy (no AD cover etc)?

I dropped a glass whilst washing up. Technically it's covered, but within the excess. Who reports that??

Manbrig

This is where statistics and real life part.
If I win the lottery does that make me more likely to win again ?
Or even the old one about if you roll a dice what are the odds (statistically) of rolling 6's in a row. The odds are the same each time so statistically speaking I am no more or less likely to roll a 6 than the last time.
I still think its just a means of jacking up premiums !
Maybe they should have a database of insurance companies based on how (statistically) they are likely to pay out.
Then we might see some real competition !

SonOf

Manbrig wrote: »

This is where statistics and real life part.
If I win the lottery does that make me more likely to win again ?
Or even the old one about if you roll a dice what are the odds (statistically) of rolling 6's in a row. The odds are the same each time so statistically speaking I am no more or less likely to roll a 6 than the last time.
I still think its just a means of jacking up premiums !
Maybe they should have a database of insurance companies based on how (statistically) they are likely to pay out.
Then we might see some real competition !

Its not the same thing as people winning the big one on the lottery are unlikely to play again and the number of winners is too low to get a statistical average that is meaningful.

Whereas insurers dealing with millions of people can clearly see a trend that has statistical meaning.

eddddy

Manbrig wrote: »

This is where statistics and real life part.
If I win the lottery does that make me more likely to win again ?
Or even the old one about if you roll a dice what are the odds (statistically) of rolling 6's in a row.

Lottery results and dice rolling results are completely random.

The likelihood of making an insurance claim isn't random.

There are many factors that influence the likelihood that a claim will be made on a particular policy.

One factor is how many times the policyholder has made claims before, and/or the number of times the policyholder has attempted to make a claim before.