Change car insurer mid term and retain NCD

Pat38493

If I change my car and my current insurer wants to charge so much more that it makes more sense to cancel the current insurance and take out a new policy, can I still keep the same level of no claims discount?

Aretnap

Yes, you'll keep the NCD you had already accrued at the start of the policy. owever you won't get any extra for a policy that you cancelled part way through - there is no such thing as "four and a half years NCD".

Pat38493

Aretnap said:

Yes, you'll keep the NCD you had already accrued at the start of the policy. owever you won't get any extra for a policy that you cancelled part way through - there is no such thing as "four and a half years NCD".

Ok but there is a maximum right?  I am pretty sure I already am at the maximum as I have not made any claims for a long time.

Pat38493

Sorry another question - what happens if the policies overlap?  

I think I read somewhere that you cannot use your NCD on two cars at the same time, so if I have 2 cars insured for any period of time, does that mean I am not entitled to any NCD at all on the newly Insured vehicle?

Aretnap

Pat38493 said:

Sorry another question - what happens if the policies overlap?  

I think I read somewhere that you cannot use your NCD on two cars at the same time, so if I have 2 cars insured for any period of time, does that mean I am not entitled to any NCD at all on the newly Insured vehicle?

Generally yes a single NCD can only be used on a single policy at once so you will need to cancel the old policy before you can use the NCD on the new policy but in practice of the overlap is only for a few hours nobody sends to mind. If you need to keep both cars insured for a couple of weeks you can look at a short term policy, or ask one of the insurers to add a second car to your policy as a temporary additional vehicle. They are used to people changing cars, it is hardly an unusual situation. 

Pat38493 said:

Aretnap said:

Yes, you'll keep the NCD you had already accrued at the start of the policy. owever you won't get any extra for a policy that you cancelled part way through - there is no such thing as "four and a half years NCD".

Ok but there is a maximum right?  I am pretty sure I already am at the maximum as I have not made any claims for a long time.

The maximum will depend on the insurer, some will allow the number on your renewal letter to keep ticking up indefinitely (though not necessarily give you any bigger a discount after a certain point), others will report it as "9 or more years" or similar.