Claim on insurance?

aster99

I have to get a bit of work done on the car, the bill is likely to be around €1,200. I have 3 years no claims bonus (will be 4 years in July). Now the problem is that i have a pile of stuff to pay for at the moment and finding the 1,200 will be a problem.

What would be the effect of claiming it through the insurance?
I realise the loss of no claims bonus, but would ye think the premium would rise much?

milltown

My advice is to ring your insurance co. and ask them. You may have no-claims protection or step back cover on your policy so the hit might not be as bad as you think. Otherwise, your age might be a bigger factor than your no-claims. i.e. If you're under 25 then it could be worth coveting your NCB as you won't be able to drive any sort of bargain at renewal time. Over 25? Then go for it, it's what you're paying insurance for.

Ring them and ask. Most of them are pretty good at customer service these days (especially FBD I have to say) and won't take back your NCB or try to get you put off the road as soon as they get wind of you having a tip.

jhegarty

What sort of work are you talking about ?

aster99

Thanks for the reply. Yeah i'm over 25...will ring them and see. I'm with Quinn Direct.

aster99

jhegarty wrote: »

What sort of work are you talking about ?

New door!!

caesar

aster99 wrote: »

I have to get a bit of work done on the car, the bill is likely to be around €1,200. I have 3 years no claims bonus (will be 4 years in July). Now the problem is that i have a pile of stuff to pay for at the moment and finding the 1,200 will be a problem.

What would be the effect of claiming it through the insurance?
I realise the loss of no claims bonus, but would ye think the premium would rise much?

First of all what do you mean you have to get a bit of work done? I know you said that you have to get a new door but what exactly are you claiming for here? What kind of damage is there, what caused the damage and when did it happen? Im not necessarily asking you to answer these here but your insurers will be asking these questions. Also read the contract that you have with your insurer i.e your policy booklet and documents. Everyone should do this anyway.

In claiming, you will lose your NCB unless you have NCB protection. Finally your premium will go up but by how much is down to the underwriters of the policy. Any other responses that you get here with regard to this will be BS. Quinn may decide to up their rates across the board come renewal time so no one really knows.

Anyway the best thing that you can do is ring them and see what they say.

patrickc

i had the same with quinn 3 years ncb and had an accident, stupidly claimed with them, and my premium went from about 900 to 1800, after a 2.5k claim.

anyhow i renewed with fbd and got it for 1200 fully comp and protected.

just be careful quinn dont do stepback unless you have 5 years no claims, they will however let you buy your full ncb back

leeroybrown

I'm no expert on repair work but €1200 seems like a lot of cash for just 'a door' unless there's more damage than just the door. If I were stuck for cash then priority number one would be to make the care safe and drivable rather than doing a perfect job, particularly if this was an older car.

If you can avoid claiming you'll probably find yourself a lot better off. My renewal went up 15% year-on-year despite having an extra year's NCB. If you claim and don't have NCB protection you could find yourself much worse off. Check the small print of your policy carefully before you proceed.