Quick question for people. I recently had an accident in the snow, in which no one else was involved. Now my insurance company have cancelled my policy (because the car was a total loss). I have 5 years protected NCB. Is this protected bonus usuable with another company? (I know I have to tell them of the claim), so can I put 5 yrs no claims when asked?
Thanks in advance
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You'd hope so, otherwise it would have been pretty pointless paying to protect that bonus!
I'm sure Mark will be along with a comprehensive answer shortly...
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Thats what I thought, just wasn't sure if the protection only applied to the company you were with when you made the claim
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"It depends".
Why should an insurance company accept a 'risky' customer who has paid someone else to protect their NCD?? I've always worked on the assumption that a protected NCD is only of use if sticking with the same insurer (even though premiums may well go up if the NCD doesn't).
Maybe a bit like claiming subsidence on house insurance - you often find you can only get insurance from the current supplier.
Martin
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But surely they will lose these "risky" customers aswell, who have paid them to protect their NCB?
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Are you looking to change companies?
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What sort of insurance company cancels your policy because you've made a claim?
Don't think you can carry protected NCD - surely it's only protected regarding the policy you've, er, just lost.
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Admiral, and I wont be using them again, especially since Id just got a new premium at £560 just 3 weeks previously! (it is there in the small print to be fair to them)
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>>I have 5 years protected NCB. Is this protected bonus usuable with another company? can I put 5 yrs no claims when asked ?
No.
Another insurer will ask you how many years claim free you have had. You're not going to be able to say 5 years, and therefore you will not get max NCB nor will you be eligible for protected NCD. There is a BIG difference between someone giving you "60% discount which is equivalent to 5 years claim free driving" and "5 years claim free driving". You'll probably get 2 years or 40% (ish) discount.
Nasty, isn't it. I do keep telling people that protected NCD isn't all that they think it is.
I'm guessing that your insurance company is a Lloyds syndicate, although even amongst them I thought the practice of cancelling after a total loss had died out.
You have three hopes;
1) your current insurer will quote you a new policy for a new vehicle and should maintain the level of NCD and keep it protected. You might also want to check for sure that the policy has been cancelled rather than suspended.
I assume its comprehensive and that they will be paying out a chunk of change. I can't think of any justification they would have, or risk, for not continuing at previous discount levels and Ts&Cs - although they may well increase the exces and load the base premium.
2) find another insurer with a special offer which fits these circumstances - I don't know one, but I never ceased to be amazed these days. I general find that if there is a special offer around a company such as Bennetts will know about it. Probably other brokers as well, but I never use them myself.
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And, as an aside, the only people who are offered protected NCD are those who are statistically unlikely to have a claim - i.e. those with 5 years or more claim free driving and maximum discount.
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Is it not the norm to cancel the policy after a total loss? After all, what is left to insure? You can't insure a non-existent car.
If this logic is to be applied, there really ought to be a proportional premium refund. Is it fair to take payment for a year when you've only provided the service for 3 weeks? Admittedly, they are out of pocket with having to pay out for the (presumably fairly expensive) total loss.
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Yes but I wanted to switch the cover to another car but they refused.
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Cheers Mark, I havent tried with the same company yet (Im still awaiting a settlement, I was just weighing up my options), but Ive been on other sites, put details of the claims in and my 5 yrs NCB, and they've given a price, so surely if I couldnt use them it would be pointed out to me? (One site gave a price and said I couldnt protect the NCB now because of details Ive entered)
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AS long as you have given full and correct details (and can prove it) then good luck to you. Just hang on to the proof in case you ever have another incident.
I'd advice checking it wiht a real person as well as an automated quote.
Also, try calling your current insurer and ask what level of proof of NCD they will issue/make available. You might be depressed.
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Cheers Mark, I will ask when I next speak to them. If all else fails I could go back with them, its just I dont like the cancelling policy they have.
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Neither do I. I am surprised that they still have it.
However, you should still ring around and get other quotes. Like I said, these days I never cease to be amazed.
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Exactly the same thing happened to me before Christmas. Apparently it's law that an insurance company must cancel a policy for a vehicle that doesn't exist anymore.
Regarding your NCB it certainly is valid for other insurance companies, be no point in protecting it otherwise - saves you going back down to only 30-35% discount instead of the 65-70% you will get with full NCB.
The company you were insured with should offer you some sort of discount on your new vehicle insurance (if the cancelled policy have a few months remaining) but in my case it turned out much cheaper to just ring round & go with someone else (Norwich Union). The insurance for my replacement vehicle turned out even cheaper than the one I wrote-off, although it is 2 groups less.
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>>Apparently it's law that an insurance company must cancel a policy for a vehicle that doesn't exist anymore.
No it is not. Its pretty pointless insuring a car which doesn't exist, but you can do it. You can also insure no car at all. Which may not make sense [and most insurers will not do it], is legal.
>>Regarding your NCB it certainly is valid for other insurance companies
So, the accident was your fault, you claimed and you then got full and protected NCD from someone else ? And they confirmed that this was all understood and ok ? Well, its not impossible - unusual, but not impossible.
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How can you insure a car that doesn't exist - you can't provide the insurance company with a REG no. or make & model ??
Regarding transferring NCB it's perfectly normal - each insurer has their own terms & conditions (ie 2 claims within 4yrs without loss of NCB)& provided you don't exceed these your NCB stays intact.
If you change insurer they provide you with a quote based on your recently driving history - if they don't like the fact that you've had a fault claim then they'll quote you something ridiculous, in my case Norwich Union were more than happy to offer a good quote for full NCB (protected) - as were 3 other companies I phoned for quotes. The rest I phoned offered protected NCB but wanted much higher premiums.
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I was just wondering if, for some reason, they might suspect you wrote the car off deliberately and the refusal is their way of saying so?
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My current cover with elephant includes the following:-
If your car is a total loss, we will deduct any outstanding
premium owed to us from any claim settlement we make
to you. We will have met all our responsibilities under the
policy and your car will become our property. All cover,
including the driving of other cars extension if applicable, is
then cancelled for you and any other drivers on your policy.
I suspect that NCB, presumably the subject of some sort of protocol between insurers, has become so mixed up with other discounts and incentives as to be impossible to unravel.
Best option for OP is not to worry too much about the semantics and shop around for the best deal available for the cards he can place on the table.
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Agreed, thanks for all the replies!
(BTW Bromptonaut, my insurance was with Belldirect, who are Admiral and also Elephant and if Im not mistaken, Diamond aswell)
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Frostbite,
interesting point - with the rise of "GAP" insurance I'm sure that insurance companies will probably start investigated the exact events involved in accidents where vehicl;es are written off much more carefully - seems as though it could be abused,
had car for 2.5yrs, fancy a new one, get it written off, claim on GAP insurance & normal insurance - new car !! Certainly could happen I think
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just thought I better add - obviously not saying this is the case here, my point above is purely hypothetical !!
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Thats ok Mountainkat, I didnt think you were! Ironically enough, I was offered Gap insurance when I bought the car two years ago, but thought it not worth it (hindsight is a wonderful thing).
Also the bit of road I slithered off wouldn't be the best place to "stage" a write off, the car fell a good 6ft into a field!!
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Sounds like the same place as my accident - I managed a 6ft drop & 2 rolls on the roof - fortunately no injuries though. Needless to say I now have GAP insurance, worth the money I think.
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Partial update, I phoned insurance company for an update on awaited offer (they said next week, incident was 19 feb and im without a car!) Anyway, they said they will provide a letter saying Ive still got 5yrs no claims discount, so thats a relief.
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Gap insurance is wrong IMO - unlike other insurance, it doesn't just restore your position, it enhances it (i.e. write off a 2 year old car, get a brand new one). This could lead to fraudulent behaviour. I know many insurances are new-for-old but that it because you can't exactly source a good second-hand stereo.
--
Mattster
Boycott shoddy build and reliability.
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Mattster,
anything that might benefit the consumer can't surely be wrong - insurance companies make enough out of us as it is so it's a nice change to be able to take out what I'd call "reasonably priced" insurance just incase your unfortunate enough to write-off your car
I agree that it does seem open to fraud but if the insurance companies are prepared to offer it they must be pretty confident it's not going to cost them money.
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Thats right Mountainkat, Im sure if at any point they start losing money on it they will soon stop offering it!
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