Insurance Claim = Premium Increase

Connacht

Folks,
My car was hit by another car that did a runner. I'm hit for E1,200 damages. I have step back NCD and fully protected NCD, but my insurer tells me my premium will go up nevertheless, if I make a claim. Plus I've an excess of E300 anyway. They can't / won't tell me how much my premium will go up, cos renewal is not due til next August. I've never claimed on car insurance all my life, have licence for 20 yrs and now find I'm completely blind as to whether or not I should claim.
Does anybody have expereince of this type of situation and any idea how much my premuim might go up if I make the claim ? It's currently E350 fully comp. Thanks.

ValerieR

I have been in a nearly similar situation, wondering to claim from my insurance or not.
The broker told me that I can claim from my insurance, and at the time of renewal, I still could refund them and get my NCB back.
Hope this helps.
V

Caliden

If you get to keep your ncb then claim. Unless there's some contractual reason why you need to stay with the same insurer come renewal time then there's no reason why you can't shop around and change insurers.

NCB protection/step back are normally additional extras that you pay a few extra quid for anyway, seems that the insurer is forcing you to make the decision of not claiming and using an increased premium as a deterrent

MugMugs

He who shouts the loudest generally gets heard..... Keep at them. Ask them if your policy was to renew now with thAt claim on it what would your premium be???? The cant tell you what your next renewal will be but they can tell you what kind of impact it would have right now.... Keep at them until they do!!!!

Our man in Havana

Caliden wrote: »

If you get to keep your ncb then claim. Unless there's some contractual reason why you need to stay with the same insurer come renewal time then there's no reason why you can't shop around and change insurers.

NCB protection/step back are normally additional extras that you pay a few extra quid for anyway, seems that the insurer is forcing you to make the decision of not claiming and using an increased premium as a deterrent

Protected NCB is a scam as it effectively handcuffs you for up to 5 years.

Attempt to move and you will be hit with the usual "Oh, you had a claim, please F off".

Be very careful.

langdang

The house always wins eh?

Our man in Havana

langdang wrote: »

The house always wins eh?

Indeed it does.

Aint Eazy Being Cheezy

Our man in Havana wrote: »

Protected NCB is a scam as it effectively handcuffs you for up to 5 years.

Attempt to move and you will be hit with the usual "Oh, you had a claim, please F off".

Be very careful.

Can you explain this part in more detail how it handcuffs you for 5 years?

MugMugs

Johnny Electricity wrote: »

Can you explain this part in more detail how it handcuffs you for 5 years?

Some insurer may not recognise your insurers protection. As such, they may not accept your NCB cert.

Connacht

Thanks all.
I'll call and demand a manager tomorrow, because it sounds ridiculous. Let's say my NCD is 60% but my premium goes up anyway, then the NCD % staying the same is irrelelvant, no ? Sounds like a con to make people believe they have no extra costs on claiming.
I have no obligation to stay with the same insurer, but I don't think that matters becauae all claims history is shared between all insurers.
Yes, by the way, of course I paid the extra few quid to get the step-back and protection.

Our man in Havana

Sounds like a con to make people believe they have no extra costs on claiming.

Precisely. The base premium will increase because of the claim. That is always a given.

TheUsual

I haven't had to do this in years but there was an uninsured drivers fund years ago that you get if you were the victim of a hit and run. It was a European wide fund as a friend of mine had to claim from it in the UK.
I'm not sure if this is still available ... here is all I could find with a quick search :

http://www.crimminshoward.ie/#/uninsured-drivers/4552394629

Connacht

Interestingly, the uninsured drivers fund from MIBI does not apply in our case.
If the guilty party is not identified (i.e. does a runner), then MIBI does not kick into action unless there is injury to the hit party. Thankfully, in our case there was no injury. It doesn't cover damage to the vehicle alone.

djimi

Caliden wrote: »

If you get to keep your ncb then claim. Unless there's some contractual reason why you need to stay with the same insurer come renewal time then there's no reason why you can't shop around and change insurers.

NCB protection/step back are normally additional extras that you pay a few extra quid for anyway, seems that the insurer is forcing you to make the decision of not claiming and using an increased premium as a deterrent

When I had a claim a lot of insurers I spoke to would not quote me until I was 3 years claim free. It was nothing to do with my current insurer; other companies were reluctant to take me on as new business.

Our man in Havana wrote:

Protected NCB is a scam as it effectively handcuffs you for up to 5 years.

Attempt to move and you will be hit with the usual "Oh, you had a claim, please F off".

Be very careful.

How is protected NCB a scam? If you cant move insurer then you get a better renewal rate with your current insurer than you would if you had lost your NCB.

djimi

OP for a claim of €1200 and a current premium of €350 I would say you are better off to claim, as I really doubt it will cost you more than €1200 overall to go through the insurer. Your premium will increase even with step back NCB, but I doubt it will be by that much over the course of the next few years. The only thing to bear in mind is that you may be restricted when it comes to renewal and your options to change insurer.

dharn

my understanding is that once you claim you will not get a cover note from your insurance ,to facilitate moving, the ncb cover means you hold on to your no claims discount so you would get a 60% discount next year but 60 % of a bigger number as your basic premium will have gone up but they cannot really load you that much

Our man in Havana

There is nothing to stop them from doubling the premium and then giving you 60% off that.