Why is my car insurance premium impacted for reporting a non-fault no-claim incident

splinternet

Six months ago, a car brushed against my tow ball whilst I was correctly parked in a supermarket car park.  There was no damage to my car, though some scratching and denting to the other car.  The other driver apologised and just as a matter of course we exchanged insurance details.  I reported this to my insurer as a matter of course and to maintain total transparency.  My insurer has not been contacted by anyone (other than me) since then, so my assumption is that the third party has, quite rightly, dealt with it herself with or without the involvement of her own insurer.   Why, then, is my renewal premium being impacted by about £160 due to this non-event? 

chrisw

Renewal premiums have increased quite a bit recently, how do you know the increase is due to that incident?

Car_54

How do you know why your premium has increased? There could be any number or combination of reasons, including inflation.

If you ask the insurer, the call centre person won't know. The underwriters' reasoning is commercially sensitive. However, if asked a generic question insurers say that statistics show that someone reporting an accident (at-fault or not) is more likely than average to have  another one.

Bonniepurple

It may be still regarded as an “open” claim.  I’ve had my van insurance renewal through and, while I’d expected it to be high due to my DH having had 2 prangs, I didn’t expect it to be as high as it was.  It turns out the non fault accident he had still hasn’t been settled by the third party insurance- and so it’s currently regarded as a fault claim.  This was news to me!

splinternet

chrisw said:

Renewal premiums have increased quite a bit recently, how do you know the increase is due to that incident?

I asked my insurer.  The whole premium has gone up by £250

splinternet

[Deleted User] said:

How do you know why your premium has increased? There could be any number or combination of reasons, including inflation.

My insurer told me.  They quoted a renewal premium of £90 more, then a few days later they increased it to £250 as they'd overlooked my reporting this incident.

Stubod

..unfortunately it is probably because you reported "an accident".

The fact that you have had one, irrespective of blame can normally cause your premium to go up?

DullGreyGuy

Mass market consumer insurance is based purely on statistical analysis, if it shows a person with XXX typically has a slightly worse claims experience than a customer without XXX with all else being equal then that will increase the price slightly.  Unlike what many people think its not groups of pricing analysts sitting around and postulating if owners of dark blue or light blue cars are likely to be more careful drivers etc.

However, its unclear how you have worked out that its the impact of a non-fault claim? Premiums in general have gone up notably across the board thanks to insurers make notable underwriting losses last year. As others have said it can also be that the file hasnt been closed yet in which case it may be having a greater impact. 

[Deleted User]

You can in theory claim the increase back from the other person's insurance, but you might find they aren't all that interested at this point.