NCD help please

LivesinKent

Hello I have had my driving licence for 14 years, no accidents, no claims etc. Unfortunately apart from the first couple of years, the rest of the time I have been a 'named driver' and 'main driver', with my husband as the policy holder. If I wanted/needed to have my own policy, does anyone know of any car insurance companies who actually take named drivers/main drivers into account? I feel penalised for being a named driver, despite driving daily for 14 years, with no claims or accidents. It doesn't seem fair! Many thanks

dunstonh

I feel penalised for being a named driver, despite driving daily for 14 years, with no claims or accidents.

You are not penalised.  You are getting exactly what your history says you are.

It doesn't seem fair!

How exactly?   How much in premiums have you paid in those 14 years?  None.   You have never been a policyowner.  The insurers will price you on your no claims history.  Some may consider offering an introductory NCD based on your history.   You may well find that the cost is not as much as you think. 

LivesinKent

I asked for advice, not rudeness. It does not seem fair to not be entitled to a 'no claims discount' when I have NOT MADE ANY CLAIMS IN 14 YEARS!!!! I have paid into premiums, thank you very much. It may be in my husband's name but this does not mean I do not pay towards the cost. I drive our car, more than my husband and always have done. And if you read my post properly, you will see I stated 'apart from the first couple of years', where I DID HAVE MY OWN POLICY. But thank you so much for taking the time to be so understanding. 

LivesinKent

Our policies have always stated that I am the MAIN DRIVER too!! And not just popping to the shop.... I have commuted to work full time for several years. I drive all week and at weekends. It is stupid how they work all of this out. 

Barny1979

Alright Karen, step away from the Caps Lock.

chrisw

Try your husbands insurance company first. Many of them such as Direct Line or I think the AA will give a named driver no claim discount but this will only apply to that company. 

Aretnap

NCD isn't supposed to be "fair". It's a marketing gimmick - nothing more, nothing less.

In days of yore it was a form of loyalty discount - a way for insurers to encourage their customers (especially the good ones who didn't claim) to renew - and the idea was that you would only get it if you stayed with the same insurer year after year.

Well of course that went the way of all loyalty bonuses - insurers soon realised that if they wanted to attract new customers they would have to offer to match their rivals' no claims bonuses. A bit like Tesco might offer to accept Sainsburys' money off vouchers. They don't do it because they're under any moral or legal obligation to accept them, but just because it helps them poach Sainsburys' customers.

Viewed from that angle, most of the oddities of NCD make sense. If you're trying to insure a second car for the first time (or the first time in years) then you won't have an existing insurer who is offering your a discount on that car - so there's no incentive for other insurers to offer you a discount either. And in fact complaining that you can't use your husband's NCD on a second car of your own is a bit like getting a "£20 off your next shop" voucher from Tesco, then complaining that you're not allowed to use it twice at two different supermarkets.

That's the theory at any rate. In practice NCD has been rather uncomfortably crowbarred into the general system that insurers use to assess risk, so there are ways that they smooth over some of the oddities. For example, as above some insurers will offer a "named driver no claims discount" if you've been a named driver, usually only on one of their own policies. Many will also offer an introductory discount roughly equivalent to a year or two's NCD if you have no NCD but meet certain criteria (eg held your licence for X years, no accidents or convictions in the last Y years), so you may find that having no NCD makes less difference to your premium than you expect. Questions like "do you have use of another car" are also intended to tease out whether you've been driving more than your lack of NCD suggests, so make sure you mention that you're named on your husband's policy when filling in the form.

For future reference, if you both have NCDs but you only have one car, the way to maintain both NCDs is for you to be the policyholder one year, your husband to be the policyholder the next year etc. NCD generally doesn't expire until two years after you last held a policy, so by swapping every year you can keep both going indefinitely, assuming neither of you make any claims of course.

[Deleted User]

Hi. If your husband contact's his policy provider they could give you proof that you haven't had any claims or incidents.  If your husband regularly changes his policy then you may have to contact previous but your current provider should be enough.  Many brokers will have motor policies whereby they can mirror the NCB whilst building up actual NCB (if that makes sense.)  So in theory, after 1 year policy in your name you would have 1yr true NCB but will give you a discount based on 5 years NCB.  

As previous OP said, if you do go down to one car make sure you swap it every two years at the most to keep it valid.

dunstonh

I asked for advice, not rudeness

If you only wanted advice then you shouldn't have added your opinion.   By doing so, you open up responses challenging your opinion.   It appears that you do not like others having opinions though.   

 It does not seem fair to not be entitled to a 'no claims discount' when I have NOT MADE ANY CLAIMS IN 14 YEARS!

And at no point in that 14 years did you pay any premiums as a policyholder.   You become entitled to a no claims discount when you started building your entitlement by becoming a policyholder.

 I have paid into premiums, thank you very much. It may be in my husband's name but this does not mean I do not pay towards the cost.

You haven't paid premiums.  Your husband paid the premiums.  He was the policyholder.   You may have gifted him the money but he was the policyholder.

 I drive our car, more than my husband and always have done. 

So, why didn't you take the policy out in your name?

and if you read my post properly, you will see I stated 'apart from the first couple of years', where I DID HAVE MY OWN POLICY. But thank you so much for taking the time to be so understanding. 

I suggest you have a drink and try and calm down.   Maybe ask your husband to do it 

DCFC79

LivesinKent said:

I asked for advice, not rudeness. It does not seem fair to not be entitled to a 'no claims discount' when I have NOT MADE ANY CLAIMS IN 14 YEARS!!!! I have paid into premiums, thank you very much. It may be in my husband's name but this does not mean I do not pay towards the cost. I drive our car, more than my husband and always have done. And if you read my post properly, you will see I stated 'apart from the first couple of years', where I DID HAVE MY OWN POLICY. But thank you so much for taking the time to be so understanding. 

Have you tried googling for an answer ?
Would you not benefit from alternating who is the main driver but choose the insurer wisely as ncd from an insurer might not be valid for a full year but its something you can find out.

Aretnap

DCFC79 said:

LivesinKent said:

I asked for advice, not rudeness. It does not seem fair to not be entitled to a 'no claims discount' when I have NOT MADE ANY CLAIMS IN 14 YEARS!!!! I have paid into premiums, thank you very much. It may be in my husband's name but this does not mean I do not pay towards the cost. I drive our car, more than my husband and always have done. And if you read my post properly, you will see I stated 'apart from the first couple of years', where I DID HAVE MY OWN POLICY. But thank you so much for taking the time to be so understanding. 

Have you tried googling for an answer ?
Would you not benefit from alternating who is the main driver but choose the insurer wisely as ncd from an insurer might not be valid for a full year but its something you can find out.

NCD (usually) follows the policyholder. Not the main driver.