Going down to 1 car but keeping partner's no claims discount.

rexmedorum

We are considering going down to 1 car as we just don't need 2 anymore. However since things can always change I would rather like to keep both our 10 year + no claims discount.

What would be the best way of keeping my partner's no claim discount existing?

Could we swapmain driver every year (we now do near enough the same mileag in each car anyway)?

I know some companies offer no claims discount for named drivers, but not sure what that's worth.

Aretnap

No Claims discount generally follows the policyholder, who is not necessarily the main driver, so it's the policyholder who you need to swap every year.

If the insurer asks who is the main driver you should still answer as accurately as you can, but as far as spouses are concerned it is unlikely to make much difference to the price unless there is a big age gap. In fact many insurers will actively not care which of you is the main driver, eg Direct Line just ask you to tick a box to say "The main driver is me or my spouse".

Named driver no claims discount is inferior as it generally can't be transferred between insurance companies so you are both effectively locked into your current insurer, who may not be the best value for your new car/in 3 years time/when you get a second car again etc.

Ebe_Scrooge

^^^^ This.

Just swap the policyholder between the two of you each year.  NCD is usually (always??) recognised for 2 years since you stopped your policy - just alternate between you and your partner every year, job's a good-un.  As Aretnap say, most insurers won't get hung up on the "main driver/fronting" thing for couples, and if you're genuinely sharing the mileage anyway then there's no argument at all.

ilikewatch2

For several years my wife and I have been alternating who is the policyholder on 3 different vehicles in order to try and retain full no claims on 6 different policies - it's complicated and requires good record keeping, but has always worked for us.

chrisw

Do some quotes and you might find it's not worth the hassle depending on age, etc.

I have a Volvo which is quite high insurance group, around group 32, and the insurance with 13 years NCD is £180, with 0 years NCD is £215. If you manage to get a named driver discount the difference will be even less.

EssexExile

I really couldn't be bothered. Sold my van so we are now both on the wife's insurance. If  we do ever need two cars again we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.