Is my 15+ no-claims discount really only worth £50 saving per year?

toom

I need to make a claim of about £1000 on insurance, but this will mean losing my 15+ years of no claims bonus. I am obviously concerned it's going to cost me more in increased premiums than the cost of the work. 

Looking online everyone seems to say that no claims bonus can save 50%-60% on premiums. But when I check online, getting a quote for insurance with the no-claims and then doing again without the no-claims, the difference between the two is only about £50 to £100. So more like 10%! 

On one comparison site the lowest result was actually £10 less without a no-claims discount than when I used exactly the same information with a 15+ year no-claims. <shrug>

Am I missing something here? If my 15 year no-claims is only saving me £50 per year, I'm not too worried about losing it. But I am worried that I am missing something! 

Hoping one of you clever forumites might be able to sense check this for me!

Mildly_Miffed

Firstly, you don't have "15+ years". No insurer recognises more than about 9, and many as little as five.

Don't you have protected bonus? So you'd only lose two years off that max.

But the far bigger effect on future premiums is going to be declaring an at-fault claim for the next five years. If you don't claim, you could theoretically lie and say you didn't have the collision, but...

toom

Thanks for replying M_M! I don't have a protected bonus unfortunately. 

It wasn't a collision, a thief nicked my radar sensor/badge and screwed up my on-board computer in the process. So I don't have to claim or declare it. But as I understand it, if I do claim, it would still be counted as "at-fault" because there is no other party to claim from. 

If it is saving me say £900 on the work now, and for the next say 7 years it costs me about £50 x 7 in increased premiums (which is roughly what I seem to be getting quoted), then it is clearly worthwhile making the claim. 

If it is costs me £900 on work now, but for the next 7 years it costs £150 x 7 in increased premiums (£1050) then it is probably not. 

I'm leaning towards making the claim, but hoping that someone more experienced/financially savvy might be able to advise whether this is a sensible choice... As the title of the post suggests, I'm a bit suspicious whether the quotes I've been getting will reflect the reality at renewal.

DullGreyGuy

Mildly_Miffed said:

Don't you have protected bonus? So you'd only lose two years off that max.

In most cases you go to 3 years irrespective of how many you had over 5 years. In the old methods you got 65-70% for 5 years. When some introduced 9 years NCD all they did was set 5 years to 65% and then increase 1% per year to 9 years. When they stepped you down they wanted to make sure the loss was material not just 2% else who'd pay the 10% charge for NCDP?

toom said:

Am I missing something here? If my 15 year no-claims is only saving me £50 per year, I'm not too worried about losing it. But I am worried that I am missing something! 

It may be, some forum members quote theirs being worth less than £5. The vast majority of people have Max NCD and any good risk with no NCD typically gets given about 50% of the full bonus anyway. 

These days insurers frequently dont publish what actual discount your get and in reality its typically more complex now. One very large household name a few years ago said that their Max NCD was now worth circa 16% on average. Depending on how you are comparing with/without NCD you may be triggering an intro discount which would be circa 8% as above so would be about the 10% your saying. 

toom

That's really helpful to know. Thanks @DullGreyGuy and @Mildly_Miffed

chrisw

Don't forget to factor in your excess though, if you have one.

Mildly_Miffed

toom said:

It wasn't a collision, a thief nicked my radar sensor/badge and screwed up my on-board computer in the process. So I don't have to claim or declare it.

You DO have to declare it.

"Have you had any motor accidents, claims or losses in the past 5 years, no matter who was at fault or if a claim was made?"
"It is really important to tell us about any claims (including unsettled claims), accidents or losses that are motor vehicle related."
...is the wording from the meerkats, and a theft of a part of the car definitely counts.

Whether you're honest or lie is up to you, of course, but you're going to have to be consistent over the next five years.