The Background: I have held my full licence since July 1982, and without wishing to tempt fate, have remained accident and conviction free. I currently drive a company car, and have done since August 1994.
The problem: SWMBO is aged 29, and has held a full car driving licence since January of this year. A colleague of mine is moving abroad with the company, and is selling his very tidy Pug 406 GLX 2.0 for relative peanuts. I have travelled in the car many times, know how he drives, know how it has been maintained, know the lack of trouble he has had, and so feel that buying this car is as safe as buying any budget, rather than banger, second hand car can be.
The problem is that I have just called Direct Line, who I have used for home insurance for years, and car insurance for years before my first company car, and learned:
1) Because I am not surrendering my company car, and want to
buy the Pug as a second car, I am allowed zero NCD. Why?
What's the difference between running one car and a hundred?
Surely NCD should apply to all of them, and if you have a
claim on one of them, be lost against all of them?
2) They won't touch my wife, who has many years Czech driving
experience, with a barge pole.
Comments most welcome, because tomorrow morning is my last chance to buy the Pug, but there is no point buying it for my wife if I can't insure it!
Many thanks guys & gals,
Steve
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Axa ( www.axamotor.co.uk ) let you insure a second vehicle on the same bonus. Just tell Direct Line you'll take your business to them. They were also substantially cheaper for me than any other insurance companies that I tried.
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Many thanks.
Will pay Axa a visit now.
/Steve
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Thanks again from trying to help, Teabelly, but I got the same story at AXA: Because I am keeping my company car, and the Pug would be a second car, I must start again at zero NCD.
The story was that this is a legal requirement (Huh?!), and NCD can only be used on one car at a time, regardless of whether it is a company car or not.
If I were to hand back the company car, I would get full NCD on the Pug, and a comprehensive premium of £523.99pa. Without this, the premium is nearly £2000.
Thanks, but no thanks, AXA.
Assuming that this has set the scene for all other insurers too, what would other Backroomers do about getting my wife on the road, if they had the same situation, please?
Time for TPT&F and bangernomics for a few years?
Cheers all,
Steve
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for anyone who doesnt know
tesco car insurance is sub-contracted to direct line
and is exactly the same policy
only tesco policies are sold about 10 % cheaper because they
are trying to buy business
if you want direct line cover buy it from tesco lots cheaper
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Weird. They have it on their website. It is in their policy benefits section under 'using your no claims discount to insure a second car' That says it is available. If they are saying something different when you ring them up then it isn't very professional of them.
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You could try contacting a firm called Peart Associates in Kendal Lancs. No connection personally with me but they did me well for a few years when I had probs like yours. You'll find them on 01539 730666
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Steve,
You may find Comprehensive insurance cheaper than TPT&F. Seems unbelievable but there was a thread on this some while ago.
Marcus
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I have never had any joy with Direct Line, although they must offer a good service to be so successful. Last time I contacted them was to get a quote for a BMW 325tds (group 13) and was told that they did not insure sports cars!
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I think you need to shop around. I was able to get a second car insurance with full no claims on a little run about.
As soon as I wanted to change this to a new car, they wouldn't touch it with the policy so I had to start again!
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You can insure it.
Firstly the principle is that NCD can only be used on the same or less number of cars then it was earned on.
Therefore, if you were losing the company car, they would be likely to treat this as "NCD equivalent". However, since you are not it is a purely additional vehicle not eligible for discount.
If your wife was a "normal" UK risk, then the answer would eb insuring it in her name as a first policy, and they would likely give her NCD or Intro Discount.
However, this doesn't work because she isn't. And therefore they won't give a discount.
Firstly, you need to contact the broadsheet version of insurers rather than the tabloid.
So, give Norwich Union and the like a call.
Secondly, can she get proof of claim free driving from Czech ? This may or may not get her a discount, but it will make getting the actual insurance easier.
Since she has had a licence since Jan, I am assuming she has been in the UK less than 18 months ?
Your acheivable goal is to be able to arrange a policy, with you as the insured, her as a named, and main, driver, with something around a 30% intro discount.
If I can insure my Chilean wife without a UK licence and never having lived in the UK on my Ferrari, I am damned sure that a Czech in the UK for 18mths with a UK licence can be insured on a Pug.
If you are getting a good deal, I advise you to buy the car, even if insurance takes a little longer.
Maybe if you contact a broker and ask for a quotation, leaving out the fact of your wife's nationality, you will get a figure. Ask what discount that includes, work out what the gross is, and that is probably your worst case scenario.
I am somewhat buried at the moment, and not reasding this site as much as I should. If you need mroe direct or further information, then e-mail me.
In the meantime, I will try to find time to have a more specific look and see what I can find.
M.
p.s. Brokers are unlikely to help - you need to contact insurers directly, and you need the large composites.
Failing that, its gonna be a syndicate policy, which you will certainly get, but the cover is mroe restrictive and the service less forthcoming.
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Will accept Foreign Nationals....
www.norwich-union.co.uk/
www.royalsunalliance.co.uk/
General list of Insurance Organisations.......
www.uk-car-insurance-centre.co.uk/
Now, as for the price, you're on your own. I know what my insurance costs me, and I'm not happy about that.
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The reason you can't use your company car NCD on another vehicle, despite the insurer saying that it will match your existing NCD on a second car, is that YOU haven't got an NCD on your company car. The COMPANY has.
As others have said, most companies will give either an introductory or even 60% NCD to company car drivers with a good record, if they are giving up their company car. This is fair enough.
But I can see why AXA won't do it. After all they are being exceptionally generous to match NCD at all - no reason why they should give you both benefits - matching NCD and giving you equivalent NCD on your company car experience.
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What a wealth of information in just a few hours! :-)
Many thanks Back Roomers, and Mark in particular.
I enjoy helping others where I can, and it's nice to be on the receiving end this time.
www.uk-car-insurance-centre.co.uk looks like being most useful, thanks, and as I write this, I'm following up a number of the links from it.
From Mark's other suggestions, both Royal & Sun Alliance and Norwich Union declined to quote online, because my wife has held a full UK licence for less than one year, so I will need to telephone. When I 'lied' however - for the purposes only of getting a feel for numbers - and said that my wife had been driving in the UK for 12 months on a full licence, R&SA quoted £600 for MY WIFE to be the main driver (which she will be), with me as the second driver, and zero no claims for either of us! Not too bad in today's market. Hopefully, next year will therefore be a somewhat easier experience on the wallet, and we will both be able to accrue our own NCD. (By then I will have come out of the company car scheme, when the lease expires, and purchased a car of my own)
I have also received a phone call from a friend who recommended CIS (www.cis.co.uk) on the strength of his personal experience. Visiting the CIS web site came up with £980.22, which is half the price of AXA for as near the same policy conditions as I could make out from the information available. Also quite a difference, and of more relevance than the quote above to my actual needs of tomorrow.
BTW, the Pug is better than 'good' condition, if not quite (but close to) 'A1', and would be mine for £4250.
Bang on the money according to www.parkers.co.uk (A1=£4650 Good=£4170), and therefore no 'steal' in market prices terms, but the attraction to me is that given it's known history, it should represent good VFM and reasonable cost of subsequent ownership.
Thanks again.
I'm now better prepared for tomorrow than I was a few hours ago!
Steve
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Steve,
I'm pleased you have found Royal & Sun Alliance to be helpful. My main car and my house have been insured with R&SA for several years and I am very pleased with them. Not only are they competitive (at least in my case) but they were very considerate in settling a claim on my house insurance where I was in fact just outside of the terms of cover of the insurance.
Hope you get and enjoy the Peugeot 406. Nice car!
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After all the help I received, I thought it only fair to conclude this thread properly.
In the event, CIS proved to have the cheapest quote, at £980.22, but very unfortunately for me and my wife, another punter has bid more for the car (over book) than I am prepared to pay.
I respect that my colleague has every right to take the highest bid, especially as the difference is not 'pence', so unless it goes to pot, it looks like I've lost out. :-(
Looking for a positive side, the past 24 hours has woken me out of my company car insurance slumber, and I feel much more aware of what to do when the next choice of car for my wife comes along.
Thanks again.
/Steve
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Just for interest...
Self & Wife ( she is Chilean, 29, and no UK licence, nor any experience of driving here)
V. Omega 2.5 Auto Estate
Ferrari 308 GTS qv
Comprehensive 50xs on Omega, 250xs on Ferrari.
No NCB, either of us, nor proof of company car driving
Business use for both (although I also have a company car - E240 Estate)
£2250 total for both, including breakdown & recovery. It was about $750 for the Omega and £1500 for the Ferrari.
I thought that was pretty good.
M.
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