No Claims Discount - what is it really about?

NorbieG

I declared my car SORN for just a month over two years and realized I lost my full No Claims Discount because I chose not to drive during that time.

It seems unjust that one's No Claims Discount (NCD) should be forfeited, which one paid additional payments over the years to protect, simply because one declared a Statutory Off Road Notification (SORN) and did not drive for just over two years. This was my experience when I attempted to return my car to the road. It appears that insurance companies profit from every possible angle!

In my view, the No Claims Discount (NCD) that one has opted to protect ought to be maintained throughout one's driving lifetime, similar to its status when no claims are filed.

mebu60

NorbieG said:

It seems unjust that one should forfeit one's No Claims Discount (NCD), which was protected through additional payments over the years, simply because one declared a Statutory Off Road Notification (SORN) and did not drive for just over two years. This was my experience when I attempted to return my car to the road. It appears that insurance companies profit from every possible angle!

In my view, the No Claims Discount (NCD) that one has opted to protect ought to be maintained throughout one's driving lifetime, similar to its status when no claims are filed.

There's the issue. Most motor insurers will accept NCD for up to two years. 

You could've checked the situation / rules when you SORN'd the vehicle to see how long a period your NCD would be honoured for (that's not meant to be as harsh as it sounds!). 

NorbieG

I don't believe that SORN has regulations concerning NCD!?

mebu60

No, but motor insurers have rules around how long a time gap they will allow NCD to carry over when you are not driving / your vehicle is SORN'd. 

Martin_the_Unjust

I suspect someone who has not driven for over two years is higher risk.

WellKnownSid

NCD seems to be just a marketing gimmick. As with all marketing gimmicks you have to play by their rules.

I recently did a quote for an additional car - forgetting that the default was for my full 20+ year NCD on the quote so had to go back and amend to zero NCD.

Difference? Less than a pound.

DullGreyGuy

Duplicate on https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6138980/expired-ncd-company-car-years-which-insurers-would-offer-something

Aretnap

NorbieG said:

I don't believe that SORN has regulations concerning NCD!?

There are no regulations concerning NCD at all. It's a marketing gimmick - nothing more, nothing less. 

In days of yore it was a form of loyalty bonus, a way for insurers to encourage their customers (especially the good ones who didn't make claims) to renew their policies year after year, and the first insurer to come up with the idea intended that you would only get it if you renewed with them.

Well that didn't last long. Soon enough insurers realised that if they wanted to attract new customers they would have to match the discount that their existing insurer was offering them. A bit like how Sainsbury's will sometimes offer to accept Tesco's money off vouchers - not because they're under any moral or legal obligation to accept them, but just because they think it's a good way of poaching Tesco's customers.

But if you're not renewing a policy then you won't have an existing insurer offering you a NCD - so there's no incentive for your new insurer to offer you one either. Far than being a scam, the fact that you can keep using your old NCD for 2 years is a rather generous concession from insurers in what at the end of the day is just a marketing gimmick that got out of hand.

Grey_Critic

***I don't believe that SORN has regulations concerning NCD!? ***

SORN is a government thing and nothing to do with NCD which is the Insurance company

***I suspect someone who has not driven for over two years is higher risk*** 

The OP has not said he has not driven in that time only he has taken HIS car off the road.

NCD protection fee is the big con trick

NorbieG

@Aretnap thanks for the insight. I can understand it if I did not ‘pay extra’ every year (for 56 years) to protect my No Claims Discount (NCD). A garage engineer mentioned that once you reach full NCD, there’s no benefit in continuing to pay for protection, as it doesn’t add any value. Additionally, your premium will increase if you’re involved in an accident, regardless of fault.

NorbieG

I'm new to this forum and haven't quite got a nack of it, so I'm missing comments to my posts unless I visit the forum.  Can one get notifications to one's post from this forum?