claim on insurance vs. pay for it myself

deadduck

hey ppl,

i'm in a bit of a pickle and i'm not sure what to do. i'm a 26 yo male with 4 years NCB currently insured fully comp for €440 (and i have NCD protection).

yesterday, i was following someone i know and ran into the back of them at a roundabout. totally my fault, nobody hurt, and i'm gonna pay for everything (her bumper plus any bits and my own damage obviously). it looks like the damage will cost between 1000 and 1500 euro to put right for both cars.

my pickle is, i don't know if i should pay for this myself, or claim it on my insurance? Does anyone know, from experience or otherwise, whether i should get the insurance company to pay, or will i screw myself with higher premiums in the long term? i'm thinking i should just pay up myself put a few people i was talking to said i should check out claiming. also, will the fact that the person i hit is a good friend of mine make any odds?

thanks in advance for any advice

BrokenArrows

deadduck wrote: »

hey ppl,

i'm a bit of a pickle and i'm not sure what to do. i'm a 26 yo male with 4 years NCB currently insured fully comp for €440 (and i have NCD protection).

yesterday, i was following someone i know and ran into the back of them at a roundabout. totally my fault, nobody hurt, and i'm gonna pay for everything (her bumper plus any bits and my own damage obviously). it looks like the damage will cost between 1000 and 1500 euro to put right for both cars.

my pickle is, i don't know if i should pay for this myself, or claim it on my insurance? Does anyone know, from experience or otherwise, whether i should get the insurance company to pay, or will i screw myself with higher premiums in the long term? i'm thinking i should just pay up myself put a few people i was talking to said i should check out claiming. also, will the fact that the person i hit is a good friend of mine make any odds?

thanks in advance for any advice

well if you have protection then claim. Thats what the protection is for.

Your not going to get a better time to use a claim then 1500 worth of damage without being in hospital for it.

deadduck

just to clarify, i have NCD protection, but not NCD step-back

Seth Brundle

These protection add-ons to a policy are only useful if you plan on staying with the same insurance company next year

deadduck

yeah, i thought there might be a catch. that's why i'm just thinking of paying it myself.

if i claimed, can anyone give me an idea on what my insurance is likely to go up to? i'm driving an '06 1.4 grande punto

golfbgud

deadduck wrote: »

yeah, i thought there might be a catch. that's why i'm just thinking of paying it myself.

if i claimed, can anyone give me an idea on what my insurance is likely to go up to? i'm driving an '06 1.4 grande punto

What is the excess on your Ins Policy?

deadduck

€300

msg11

Best thing to do mate is try and online quote without a NCB & add the accident in and see how much it your new quote will be.

jmtc8

If you claim through your insurance, remember you will be tied to your insurance company for the next 5 years. No other insurance company will quote you with a claim on your policy. Seen as you know the person I would just pay it myself if you can. Sometimes the insurance company will also pay out the money for you and then you pay them back so it removes the claim off your policy.

seamus

Have a look at your quote for this year's insurance, it should detail how much the NCD was worth to you. At a guess, I'd say that the NCD was worth 40%, which means that you're looking at a premium of around €800 next year.
When looking at accidents in the last five years, claims under €5k are usually considered to be small knocks (i.e. not slamming into walls at 60kph) and generally don't affect your loading.

Also work out your costs, if in the worst case the damage is €1500:
If you claim through insurance, it'll be €300 now and an additional €400 on your insurance premium, which over the next four years works out at
€300 + €800 * 4 = €3500

The cost of paying now works out at
€1500 + €400 * 4 = €3100

Both figures are give or take a few hundred euro. Also consider that premiums will be rising over the next few years, which means that a €100 increase in your premium will be strongly reduced by a large NCD.

deadduck

thanks for all the advice people. i reckon it could be maybe 2 grand now, noticed some extra damage, so i think i'll go through the insurance. gonna give them a ring later

gpjordanf1

kbannon wrote: »

These protection add-ons to a policy are only useful if you plan on staying with the same insurance company next year

For the next five years, I done this and it cost me so much more over the five years. Every other insurance company asks for claims going back 5 years! It will cost you in the long run!
Insurance is worthless in these situations!

unkel

deadduck wrote: »

it looks like the damage will cost between 1000 and 1500 euro to put right for both cars.

Are you sure? You'd be surprised how much little visual damage costs to have professionally fixed. At a grand it's most likely better to pay yourself. But when it starts hitting 2 grand, 3 grand, you get the picture...

Sorry for your troubles anyway

Edit: I see you've already found out it's gonna cost more

I.S.T.

kbannon wrote: »

These protection add-ons to a policy are only useful if you plan on staying with the same insurance company next year

not entirely true, it depends on the company. I had a claim on a policy with full protection with Hibernian and when I switched to FBD they recognised the full no claims discount.

Cyrus

sounds like some people are guessing here or scaremongering

i had something similar happen, cost a lot more than i thought it would, and it was only a tiny tip and a very minor repair, things like bumpers and headlamps can be expensive also the other persons car may have damage you cannot see,

id go thro the insurances thats what its for, your NCD is protected, so your insurer has to quote you as having the same NCD next year, also, some insurers will quote you the same as before, and some wont quote you at all, try insure.ie or 123.ie and put in a claim to see.

Anan1

IrishSpeedTraps wrote: »

not entirely true, it depends on the company. I had a claim on a policy with full protection with Hibernian and when I switched to FBD they recognised the full no claims discount.

Depends on the claim too, some ins cos will look the other way if it's under say €3k.

unkel

IrishSpeedTraps wrote: »

I had a claim on a policy with full protection with Hibernian and when I switched to FBD they recognised the full no claims discount.

They would recognise the full no claims discount alright as Hibernian were obliged to issue you a written copy stating your full no claims discount (which was protected and not affected by your claim)

Any new insurer will ask you "did you have any claim in the past 5 years" and you saying yes usually will severely increase your premium, if they quote you at all...

patrickc

to replace the front bumper on my volvo, the thing behind it thats a safety feature (cant think what its called) a light and a few niggly bits was over 1700 for me.


its dearer than you think

I.S.T.

unkel wrote: »

They would recognise the full no claims discount alright as Hibernian were obliged to issue you a written copy stating your full no claims discount (which was protected and not affected by your claim)

Any new insurer will ask you "did you have any claim in the past 5 years" and you saying yes usually will severely increase your premium, if they quote you at all...

The No claims cert issued by Hibernian did say I had a claim. I told FBD and they had no problem as it was a fully protected policy.

Cyrus

unkel wrote: »

They would recognise the full no claims discount alright as Hibernian were obliged to issue you a written copy stating your full no claims discount (which was protected and not affected by your claim)

Any new insurer will ask you "did you have any claim in the past 5 years" and you saying yes usually will severely increase your premium, if they quote you at all...

my experience is that they will either quote or not, if they do, it appears not to effect the premium

cpoh1

Cyrus wrote: »

my experience is that they will either quote or not, if they do, it appears not to effect the premium

This is true the only increase people will see on their premium is when your NCD is lost. Insurance companies dont add to your premium based on accident history, they will either quote you or they dont. What is the oint of a NCD otherwise? So as cyrus said they either quote you or they dont, no loading.

Another myth is that you are tied to the same insurance company. Most companies will quote you with whatever bonus you have following a crash. If the accident is under 4k they wont even bat an eyelid.

CoDy1

jmtc8 wrote: »

If you claim through your insurance, remember you will be tied to your insurance company for the next 5 years. No other insurance company will quote you with a claim on your policy.

Incorrect.

You are never tied to any Insurer regardless of claiming. Most Insurers will take on people who have had claims in the last 3-5 years as long as the claim has been settled, some insurers are now quoting on claims that are still open ( Wrightway & XS Direct).

Considering this claim will be less than €1500 and that your bonus is protected, your premium with your existing insurer will not be loaded.

Even if you were to go elsewhere you can still use your NCB discount with another insurer, even with a claim, although it will be a discount off a higher premium, but it would be better than a nil bonus.

I say keep your money and let your Insurance deal with it.

Beamer Queen

i would definately go through your insurance thats what it is there for. I had a claim two years ago and i was with axa. my NCD was stepped back and my premium went up by 400 euro which brought it up to 960. but the following year it reduced down. Im 24 and drive 2L bmw and have 4yrs NCD. I now pay 580 for my insurance.

I would recommend talking to your insurance company and explaining the situation cos usually they are very helpful and will work out the costs for you.
I've never been refused a quote because of my accident and you are not tied into an insurance company for 5 years if you have an accident!!

Do ring your insurance and talk to them it might give you a better understanding.

RentDayBlues

Make sure your NCB protection will cover everything - I took a claim on my insurance thinking I had full coverage and not checking just taking the insurers word for it and it turns out my coverage is limited to a certain amount so I've lost my 4 years NCB!

unkel

cpoh1 wrote: »

the only increase people will see on their premium is when your NCD is lost. Insurance companies dont add to your premium based on accident history

That's new to me - good news!

I've been paying a full NCB protection option (adds 15% to my premium) for donkeys years. My reason for ticking this option is so I could keep driving a relatively powerful car even after a claim, with my own insurer. But this keeps going to other insurance very much open in such a situation.

deadduck

just to let everyone know whats happening. i decided to go the insurance route, and my friend brought her car in today to one of the ins. comp. authorised garages, gonna cost 2.2k! god knows what mine is gonna cost.

on the plus side, she got a loner car while hers is fixed, and so will I. also, the lady from the ins. comp. said because i have NCD protection, it won't be affected, so next years premium will be quoted as if i never claimed at all. sounds a bit too good to be true, but thats what she said!

anyways, mine is going in tomorrow, expecting a quote of about 4k for mine going on the friends price.

thanks again for all the input, very much appreciated