Lost 4 years no claims bonus getting pebble chip fixed on Windscreen

Luckycharm

During the summer Autoglass were heavily advertising get your chips fixed on your windscreen. Anyhow I had a chip for about 2 years not too big and not spreading. I was at the shopping centre one day and happened to just park beside an Autoglass marquee. I got talking to the guy and asked how much it was he said the insurance companies cover this as part of your policy.
It was only a little enough chip so said will get it done. It took about 15 mins and thought nothing more of it.
Anyhow get my insurance quote for next year in today and see I have lost nearly 5 years no claim bonuses because of getting this chip fixed cost €125 (which is pretty extortionate). Anyhow now my insurance is much higher this year!! Probally my own naviety but if I had known this was going to count as a full claim then I would not have got it done.
Has anyone else had this experience, Can I pay the €125 and get back my 5 years no claim discount- I am fuming!! Losing my no claim discount for something so Trivial!!

colm_mcm

Did you actually have windscreen cover on the car?

Hagar

Hook, line and sinker. You just have to admire the insurance companies. Excellent revenue genarator.

Darragh29

I heard of one insurance company ringing up a customer who had claimed for a little over 1K in damage to a 3rd party vehicle. The insurance company was offering to basially sell her back her no claims bonus!!!

They were putting it to her that if she refunded the insurance company the amount that they paid out on the above claim, they would reinstate her no claims bonus, you couldn't make it up!!!

Luckycharm

I just found my policy - I upgraded my car during the year and obviously my premium went up which I paid. Anyway in Section 2 - under glass breakage it says - broken or damaged windscreen, windows or sunroof glass- it says Covered.
This would mean I am covered would it not and I should not lose my No claims bonus? I tried to ring them but they are closed for Xmas so cannot speak to them till monday.

mickdw

Ive had a couple of windscreens done over the years. What I notice re no claims bonus is that they list the windscreen as a claim on you history but it has no effect whatsoever on premium even without claims protection.
I often wondered though if I was to move company would the windscreen claim hurt me bigtime?
I would ring the insurance company and tell them to at least match last years quote or else you are off. Get the cheapest quote you can from some other company first and refer to it.

Hogzy

If it says your covered that means they will foot the bill if the windscreen needs replacing! What you need is a "No claims discount protection".

I think how insurance companies operate is a disgrace. You pay them monthly to cover anything that might happen(over time that money amounts to alot) im 21 driving 4 years and in total over that time i say iv paid funds of about €6000 for insurance on various cars, iv never claimed but if i were to claim tomorrow for about €1000 my premium would go up resulting in the copany getting even more money! I think insurance should be paid into a fund that can be redemable on death to your family if you never use that fund!

mickdw

Hogzy wrote: »

If it says your covered that means they will foot the bill if the windscreen needs replacing! What you need is a "No claims discount protection".

I think how insurance companies operate is a disgrace. You pay them monthly to cover anything that might happen(over time that money amounts to alot) im 21 driving 4 years and in total over that time i say iv paid funds of about €6000 for insurance on various cars, iv never claimed but if i were to claim tomorrow for about €1000 my premium would go up resulting in the copany getting even more money! I think insurance should be paid into a fund that can be redemable on death to your family if you never use that fund!

And if you were unfortunate enough to need to claim, would you be happy have a premium of about 15,000 a year? because if your plan was to be used, people who never claim would not be contributing to the pot so basically you would have to pay for your own claims.

AlanD

You need to understand your particular policy inside out since not every policy is the same. Many people assume they are. As someone already said, windscreen cover will only mean that they will foot the bill, but in your case a claim is a claim which counts, no matter how small.

So the policy you need is one where windscreen claims do not affected your policy, plus if you have a NCB to protect you should have either step back NCB protection or full NCB protection. It adds to the cost of your policy, but is worth having.

AlanD

Hogzy wrote: »

If it says your covered that means they will foot the bill if the windscreen needs replacing! What you need is a "No claims discount protection".

I think how insurance companies operate is a disgrace. You pay them monthly to cover anything that might happen(over time that money amounts to alot) im 21 driving 4 years and in total over that time i say iv paid funds of about €6000 for insurance on various cars, iv never claimed but if i were to claim tomorrow for about €1000 my premium would go up resulting in the copany getting even more money! I think insurance should be paid into a fund that can be redemable on death to your family if you never use that fund!

It's not really how insurance works.....you could have an accident with the resulting claim costing the insurance company hundreds of thousands of euro so your 6k paid in won't cover that, so other people's premiums help pay for it along with their investments and so on. You pay based on the likely risk of the group you belong to.......it's never personal, but group based which is unfortunate, but it's how insurance works.

Hogzy

mickdw wrote: »

And if you were unfortunate enough to need to claim, would you be happy have a premium of about 15,000 a year? because if your plan was to be used, people who never claim would not be contributing to the pot so basically you would have to pay for your own claims.

Never said it was perfect... Im just saying that insurance is a rip off!!!! The above comment was a bit of a rant!:rolleyes:

elexes

what company ?

did you sign anything saying that you were allowing the windscreen to be fixed under your own insurance resulting in a voide on all previous years ncd

in work were with fbd they have no limit to the ammount of times that you can have your windscreen replaced.

lucky for us as weve had 8 windscreens replaced in the last 12 months .

Luckycharm

It is Axa. I have no claims discount cover - it says years since last claim 0 years so this basically limits me being able to change company. I had a cheap car robbed and burnt out in Feb 04 - payout €1700 which is down as a claim which is fair enough. I have been driving over 15 years have 0 points and (touchwood) have not even had a bump/accident so annoyed at losing no claims over something so small.

maidhc

Luckycharm wrote: »

It is Axa. I have no claims discount cover - it says years since last claim 0 years so this basically limits me being able to change company. I had a cheap car robbed and burnt out in Feb 04 - payout €1700 which is down as a claim which is fair enough. I have been driving over 15 years have 0 points and (touchwood) have not even had a bump/accident so annoyed at losing no claims over something so small.

Humm, I needed a windscreen last year. I claimed off Axa on the last day of cover and after I had switched insurers. I felt i was within my rights and wanted to make sure they would not do exactly what they have done to you.

ninty9er

How Will A Claim Affect My No Claims Discount?
How your no claims discount is affected differs depending on the type of policy and type of claim. Depending on this your no claims discount may be untouched in the case of fire, theft or windscreen claims, stepped back (reduced) or removed completely. It is normal practice for your no claims discount to be removed while we are investigating a claim even if we have not paid anything out. Our claims staff will be happy to advise you in the event that you are unfortunate enough to have a claim.

Fine tooth comb are 3 words that come to mind.

Luckycharm

ninty9er wrote: »

Fine tooth comb are 3 words that come to mind.

That is very ambigous on the axa website- how much would it cost in general to get the whole windscreen replaced?

Steve

Luckycharm wrote: »

It is Axa. I have no claims discount cover - it says years since last claim 0 years so this basically limits me being able to change company.

Hang on, you said in the first post that your premium went up, is this because of the car change or the ncd loss?

They can't increase the premium because of a claim regardless of whether you have ncd protection or not.

Luckycharm

My premium went up orignally from new car. But the premium is up from last year on the last year premium on the new car. Also I have that Axa credit card which allegedly gives you money off your premium the more you spend etc don't see that.
My main point is if I want to change company it looks like I have claimed for last year for this which will obviously go against me getting new quotes.

ninty9er

Luckycharm wrote: »

My premium went up orignally from new car. But the premium is up from last year on the last year premium on the new car. Also I have that Axa credit card which allegedly gives you money off your premium the more you spend etc don't see that.
My main point is if I want to change company it looks like I have claimed for last year for this which will obviously go against me getting new quotes.

If your premium went up when you changed the car, it's obviously going to be more expensive for a whole year than the balance on the remainder of last year's.

Just because your premium went up, doesn't mean you didn't get credited with another year NCB.

Luckycharm

ninty9er wrote: »

If your premium went up when you changed the car, it's obviously going to be more expensive for a whole year than the balance on the remainder of last year's.

Just because your premium went up, doesn't mean you didn't get credited with another year NCB.

I changed early enough after getting last years policy - I have worked out the cost for the year - anyway I will ring them next monday to sort it out. My main issue is that if I go looking for another quote can I say I have 4 years no claim bonus as that will make a big difference to my quotes over €300 when doing a couple on-line.

Steve

Luckycharm wrote: »

My main point is if I want to change company it looks like I have claimed for last year for this which will obviously go against me getting new quotes.

Ah, ok. Unfortunately they have you over a barrel with that one. It's a clever feature of modern insurance policies and very few people realise the implications of it (i.e. if you claim, you effectively can't change companies for the next five years). If it's a genuine claim such as a crash then it's normally financially worth it but in your case it does indeed seem to be a con.
I wish I had better advice on what to do about it, maybe write to the financial ombudsman (who regulate the insurance industry) and ask their opinion? I'm not sure.

ninty9er

Luckycharm wrote: »

I changed early enough after getting last years policy - I have worked out the cost for the year - anyway I will ring them next monday to sort it out. My main issue is that if I go looking for another quote can I say I have 4 years no claim bonus as that will make a big difference to my quotes over €300 when doing a couple on-line.

So did they put 0 years NCB on the renewal, or did you just assume it's gone because the price went up?

This is different from "0 years since last claim"

Keith C

Just reimburse the €125 you'll get your NCB reinstated. Instead of bashing insurance companies you should be having a word with the autoglass people for saying its guarenteed free under your ins policy.
Also another reason your NCB is gone, did you have a minor tipp at all during the year, Someone may have taken you reg number & be trying to claim against you for damages, (its been known to happen)

Think the lesson of this is to know what your covered for before you claim on the word of a saleman (autoglass) that ins company will pay for it.

Darragh29

They shouldn't even be allowed to take your NCB from you over a windscreen claim. It should be set out in legislation that NCB can only be removed on the basis of a claim that is down to error or fault on the part of the policyholder. Clearly having a chip on your windscreen is no relection of the driving experience or ability of a driver, which is what a NCB is meant to recognise and reward. If I had an insurance company treating me like this, it would be the last cent they would get from me.

Here's what to do OP, pay them their 120 Euro, get your NCB reinstated and then transfer your insurance to another provider. That's what I'd do anyway and let them go f*ck themselves...

PeakOutput

right i used to work for axa

if you dont have windscreen cover or 'extra benefits' on your policy then a windscreen claim will effect your bonus and if you pay back the 125euro then you will get your bonus back

if you do have windscreen cover on your policy then the most likely reason is the claim has been opened but was not processed and closed before the renewal notice went out. therefore the system hasnt been told yet that its just a windscreen claim and to allow the no claims discount. renewal notices are sent automatically as far as i know.

somewhere on the renewal notice it says weather or not you have any claims active if you dont then the person processing the claim just forgot to allow the bonus

this is reversible in a few minutes and i wouldnt worry too much as this is probably what happened.

if you dont have windscreen cover then i dont know why you would expect not to lose your no claims discount after making a claim


also iirc axa step back your bonus by one year for a claim that dosnt involve any other parties so if its gone from 5 years you either had more than one claim this year or something has gone wrong somewhere along the line

axa opens again on monday as far as i know

PeakOutput

Darragh29 wrote: »

They shouldn't even be allowed to take your NCB from you over a windscreen claim. It should be set out in legislation that NCB can only be removed on the basis of a claim that is down to error or fault on the part of the policyholder. Clearly having a chip on your windscreen is no relection of the driving experience or ability of a driver, which is what a NCB is meant to recognise and reward. If I had an insurance company treating me like this, it would be the last cent they would get from me.

Here's what to do OP, pay them their 120 Euro, get your NCB reinstated and then transfer your insurance to another provider. That's what I'd do anyway and let them go f*ck themselves...

emmmmm no

a no claims bonus is there to reward you for making no claims. leaving aside special offers or extra features every insurance company in this country will affect your ncb over a windscreen claim.

edit; also axa provide the best cover on the market at the moment and the best customer service so changing to another company is only ****ing yourself over unless you are desperate to save a little money

i can see insurance complaint threads becoming quite prolific over the next year or so as the insurance companies are in trouble so the days of cheap insurance are over and people are going to feel so hard done by the companies as they fight to survive

Keith C

Darragh29 wrote: »

Here's what to do OP, pay them their 120 Euro, get your NCB reinstated and then transfer your insurance to another provider. That's what I'd do anyway and let them go f*ck themselves...

id guess your about 17 with that attitude :rolleyes: & probably milks a claim to "screw those rip off ins companies" ** shakes fist**

Keith C

PeakOutput wrote: »

i can see insurance complaint threads becoming quite prolific over the next year or so as the insurance companies are in trouble so the days of cheap insurance are over and people are going to feel so hard done by the companies as they fight to survive

agree 100%, rates have started to go up already, gonna be hard for people to swallow as everyone has been used to bluffing/getting lower premiums matched or better'd for last few years.

Our man in Havana

Protected NCB is a scam pure and simple. If you claim on a protected NCB you still cannot move insurers as you are considered to have no NCB if you attempt to move insurers. All a protected NCB does is lock you to your existing insurer for up to five years from a claim.

Whilst your NCB may be "protected", your existing insurer is free to raise your premium as much as it likes and you won't be able to move.

Buyer beware as they say.

DRice

mickdw wrote: »

Ive had a couple of windscreens done over the years. What I notice re no claims bonus is that they list the windscreen as a claim on you history but it has no effect whatsoever on premium even without claims protection.
I often wondered though if I was to move company would the windscreen claim hurt me bigtime?
I would ring the insurance company and tell them to at least match last years quote or else you are off. Get the cheapest quote you can from some other company first and refer to it.

yes thats what i would do aswell, if its only 125 quid they might try to hang on to you. then again it depends on who you get on the phone

Darragh29

Keith C wrote: »

id guess your about 17 with that attitude :rolleyes: & probably milks a claim to "screw those rip off ins companies" ** shakes fist**

I'm nowhere near 17 for a start. Now explain this to me... Who on earth would anyone buy windscreen cover if they actually thought that in the event of them using the cover, they would be forfeiting their no claims bonus???

BTW, I never had a claim against my policy and never had to claim off someone else's policy, so you're talking pure rubbish there with that...

PeakOutput

Darragh29 wrote: »

I'm nowhere near 17 for a start. Now explain this to me... Who on earth would anyone buy windscreen cover if they actually thought that in the event of them using the cover, they would be forfeiting their no claims bonus???

BTW, I never had a claim against my policy and never had to claim off someone else's policy, so you're talking pure rubbish there with that...

thats the point it only affects your bonus if you dont have windscreen cover if he has windscreen cover he is grand and its a clerical error

your post says nothing about windscreen cover it simply says that no matter what a windscreen claim should not affect your bonus

PeakOutput

DRice wrote: »

yes thats what i would do aswell, if its only 125 quid they might try to hang on to you. then again it depends on who you get on the phone

lads your in dream land it might work this time and it might work in a few weeks but this whole get a cheaper quote somewhere else and get your own company to cut their price is about to disappear

there is a reason quinn are cheaper than alliance and axa and its not because their board are nicer people than alliances or axas board. when times are good(which they have been) the better companies want to get more customers from the cheap companies so they will match their price on the basis that the customers will be impressed with their service and stay with them threw the tough times which we are now into (the insurance companies have been in tough times for about a year maybe a year and a half but its gotten bad enough now that they cannot keep absorbing the cost)

the companies are going to try and get threw this time by keeping as many customers as possible while prices rise and while getting rid of as much risk as possible. this is a fact that i think people need to get used to but there is going to be very little room to move on things like for example if you dont have ncb protection and make a claim and threaten to move companies if they dont allow your bonus anyway for the simple fact that your costing them money and they would be glad to get rid of your risk were as before because they were in the black comfortably and had wriggle room.

Darragh29

PeakOutput wrote: »

thats the point it only affects your bonus if you dont have windscreen cover if he has windscreen cover he is grand and its a clerical error

your post says nothing about windscreen cover it simply says that no matter what a windscreen claim should not affect your bonus

As far as I knew, windscreen cover is a separate product from your car insurance. The point regarding claiming for windscreen cover off your normal policy in the event of you not actually having windscreen cover doesn't stand up, because your excess will always be greater than the cost of repairing a windscreen. For example, if your policy has an excess of 300 Euro, which is the lowest excess I know of, you can't put a claim of 200 Euro through your policy for a windscreen or for anything else for that matter....

PeakOutput

ye thats a good point daragh i completely forgot about the excess and the fact the op hasnt been asked to pay one says to me he has the cover and its an error

there are 250 excess out there with loads of ways to reduce but it will never be low enough to make a 125euro claim worth your while.

let us know how you get on anyway op im too drunk with the day thats in it to post anymore

samhail

I thought i had lost my 6years no claims bonus for not having a policy in my name for over 2 years. 1800 euro/yr instead of 600!
I just got a chip fixed in my car and made no mention of insurance !

FGR

Holy God. I'm with Quinn however have Fully Comp and Windscreen Cover.

Got the Windscreen replaced with Allied Irish Windscreens last week and hope to God I don't lost my (albeit measly) 1 year's NCB.

Seth Brundle

Darragh29 wrote: »

As far as I knew, windscreen cover is a separate product from your car insurance. The point regarding claiming for windscreen cover off your normal policy in the event of you not actually having windscreen cover doesn't stand up, because your excess will always be greater than the cost of repairing a windscreen. For example, if your policy has an excess of 300 Euro, which is the lowest excess I know of, you can't put a claim of 200 Euro through your policy for a windscreen or for anything else for that matter....

IIRC my excess is €100

kluivert

Just re pay the insurance company the cost of the replacement windscreen and have your no claims re instated.

Simple as that no need to have a three page thread on this.

Darragh29

kbannon wrote: »

IIRC my excess is €100

Well I'm obviously not in a position to disagree with ya there but I'd say that is not the typical excess that would be out there...

Voodoomelon

Somewhat unrelated, but a guy I now was hit by a woman in the local village and her insurance covered his damage. A few months later, HIS premium went up. He got on the phone and gave out sh*te to them, he actually got a slight reduction.
They'll chance their arm more than once i'll tell you...

PeakOutput

i find it funny that people believe the insurance company is out to get you and screw you for every penny

an insurance company isnt a big monster hiding in the dark its just a business being run by people like you and me. mistakes happen if your friends premium going up was not simply a mistake they would not have changed it back. there was no person sitting in the corner looking threw claims that year saying well we can put this guys premium up for no reason and he probably wont notice

Darragh29

PeakOutput wrote: »

i find it funny that people believe the insurance company is out to get you and screw you for every penny

an insurance company isnt a big monster hiding in the dark its just a business being run by people like you and me. mistakes happen if your friends premium going up was not simply a mistake they would not have changed it back. there was no person sitting in the corner looking threw claims that year saying well we can put this guys premium up for no reason and he probably wont notice

Well they haven't done themselves any favours in recent years raping young people, refusing cover on the basis of age and gender, and generally messing a whole generation around with refusing to give quotes, cover, etc. They are up there with developers and publicans in my opinion.

green123

PeakOutput wrote: »

there was no person sitting in the corner looking threw claims that year saying well we can put this guys premium up for no reason and he probably wont notice

no , probably not. they just put up all the premiums for no reason

PeakOutput

Darragh29 wrote: »

Well they haven't done themselves any favours in recent years raping young people, refusing cover on the basis of age and gender, and generally messing a whole generation around with refusing to give quotes, cover, etc. They are up there with developers and publicans in my opinion.

as a young person i or none of my friends have had any trouble getting quotes or cover fully comp or otherwise on any cars we have had(small to medium sized engines). its a sad fact that young people **** themselves and others up more on the roads than people in other age brackets.

anyway i wasnt really talking about getting cover as i dont have much experience in that area and i believe any company should be allowed charge whatever they want / need to keep the profits rolling in, i was talking about how you are treated when you have cover and the vocal minority that is full of hate for the companies (there are one or two companies deserving of that hate from customer service perspective but in general the companies provide very good service in this country.

for the record i dont work for or have any plans to work in insurance in the future in case someone thnks im just defending my own industry and i think the companies are unnecessary and the government should be able to run a not for profit insurance agency that covers everyone but its not going to happen and what we are left with isnt all that bad

edit

no , probably not. they just put up all the premiums for no reason

well thats a different story, either the premium went up because he was involved in an accident or everyones went up regardless of weather they were involved in an accident or not that year. the latter happens all the time and is going to be happening alot more over the next year or so and its not for no reason its so they can keep in the black

maclek

I had a big chip on my windscreen a year or so ago. Called hibernian first, they said I could get it fixed myself and they'd cover me for like 20 cents, or they would sort it out through their approved installer and the whole thing would be covered. I asked them would it affect the ncd and they confirmed it wouldn't. The installer had some trouble sourcing a new windscreen since the car has automatic wipers but they eventually came to the house, installed it and it cost me nothing. I don't know why the op wouldn't talk to his insurance company first.

Speaking of getting screwed by insurance companies, I'm with eagle star now. I got sick of getting renewal quotes every year from hibernian that were €100 more than I was quoted on their web site. I'd call them up asking for the better price, they'd tell me those quotes were only for new customers signing up online, I'd tell them I be happy to cancel my policy and sign up for new one, but can I speak to a supervisor first. The supervisor would hem and haw and finally agree. It was a special January ritual I had with Hibernian until I finally got a better quote from eagle star.

So yes, they do push up the premiums for everyone for no reason. I'm betting 90% of people just take the renewal quote without question.