A guide to motor insurance & FAQ's

Special Circumstances

Sooo, we can chalk this one up
Driver A and B pass their test in 2005.
In 2015 Driver A renews his licence and is imbued with a refreshed understanding of the updated ROTR and a top up of driving skills.
In 2015 Driver B does not renew his licence and immediately becomes a slavering animal behind the wheel and should be punished most harshly for the want of a rubber stamp job.

What does the box ticking exercise in the NDLS accomplish? Apart from not gifting some insurers a very opportunistic way to pull the rug from under you?

If you were with a broker, year one your insurer is fine as long as you "have held, and are not disqualified" and year two is "current rubber stamped licences only" - the majority of people will not cop this. Harsh.

Sue Pa Key Pa

Do you not think it is reasonable to be currently licenced by the Government to comply with driving legislation (of which insurance forms a major part of) in this country. There are reasons for it. Licences can be withdrawn (disqualified) by the authorities on medical grounds such as poor eyesight, dementia, classes of diabetes etc., yet you think it would be OK for people to get around it by just letting their licence lapse rather than presenting themselves for authorisation

Special Circumstances

Sue Pa Key Pa wrote: »

Do you not think it is reasonable to be currently licenced by the Government to comply with driving legislation (of which insurance forms a major part of) in this country. There are reasons for it. Licences can be withdrawn (disqualified) by the authorities on medical grounds such as poor eyesight, dementia, classes of diabetes etc., yet you think it would be OK for people to get around it by just letting their licence lapse rather than presenting themselves for authorisation

I must have fooled the system rightly so... I didn't present myself for any exam only that of my bank balance.

Surely the "not prohibited whatever from getting a licence" covers those who really medically should not be driving.

That's the best justification for why some companies will destroy your ability to ever get insurance again even though others are "meh no big deal, you passed your test"?

Sue Pa Key Pa

I'm finally done with you. Getting tiresome listening to the same sad attempt at satire over and over again. Did I mention over and over again?

akesha

Hi all,

I am a Spanish lady (32 years old), that moved to Ireland 2 years ago.
I got my license in Spain at the end of 2008. Exchanged to an Irish full license in February.

I moved to different companies in Spain, being the last one Linea Directa from 2011 to 2014, until I decided to move here. My car had some scratches from the garage, so I decided to claim to fix them in order to sell the car. This was in June 2014, the claim was only 400 euro.

Now I want to buy a new car, but I am struggling to get an insurance. My NCB is 0, because it is more than 2 years now from my last insurer. And if I tell about the claim I did to fix the scratches, the quotes are 4K or I get the decline letter...

Do I have to disclose the claim? Because if I don´t, I can get a quote of around 2.5k, which is still too much, but more payable than 4K.... I just want to start from zero here

scamalert

akesha wrote: »

Hi all,

I am a Spanish lady (32 years old), that moved to Ireland 2 years ago.
I got my license in Spain at the end of 2008. Exchanged to an Irish full license in February.

I moved to different companies in Spain, being the last one Linea Directa from 2011 to 2014, until I decided to move here. My car had some scratches from the garage, so I decided to claim to fix them in order to sell the car. This was in June 2014, the claim was only 400 euro.

Now I want to buy a new car, but I am struggling to get an insurance. My NCB is 0, because it is more than 2 years now from my last insurer. And if I tell about the claim I did to fix the scratches, the quotes are 4K or I get the decline letter...

Do I have to disclose the claim? Because if I don´t, I can get a quote of around 2.5k, which is still too much, but more payable than 4K.... I just want to start from zero here

dont mention and start fresh - theres no point in telling if difference is almost 2k for whatever claim you had that cost 400e couple years back.

loveisdivine

Bit long winded but I could really use some advice.

In September 2015 I had a small accident in my husbands car. It was my fault. I notified insurance and the claim was settled for €1400.

Soon after this I got my own car and needed insurance in my own name. I had been living in Ireland for 5 years at the time and had been a named driver on my husbands policy for those 5 years. So this would be the first policy in my own name. Because of this and my claim my insurance was €3000.

When renewal came in October 2016, it had gone down to €2500. I was just thankful it went down!

So today, someone has advised me that I can call the insurance company ( we are still with them for my husbands car, which was the vehicle in the accident) Pay the claim settlement amount of 1400 and have the claim basically removed so my future renewal prices will go back to "normal".

Is this true? Does it matter that the insurance company I am with for my own vehicle, is different to the one for my husbands vehicle whose policy the claim was on.

It seems a bit too good to be true to me.

scamalert

loveisdivine wrote: »

Bit long winded but I could really use some advice.

In September 2015 I had a small accident in my husbands car. It was my fault. I notified insurance and the claim was settled for €1400.

Soon after this I got my own car and needed insurance in my own name. I had been living in Ireland for 5 years at the time and had been a named driver on my husbands policy for those 5 years. So this would be the first policy in my own name. Because of this and my claim my insurance was €3000.

When renewal came in October 2016, it had gone down to €2500. I was just thankful it went down!

So today, someone has advised me that I can call the insurance company ( we are still with them for my husbands car, which was the vehicle in the accident) Pay the claim settlement amount of 1400 and have the claim basically removed so my future renewal prices will go back to "normal".

Is this true? Does it matter that the insurance company I am with for my own vehicle, is different to the one for my husbands vehicle whose policy the claim was on.

It seems a bit too good to be true to me.

wont help since youd still have only 1yr ncb if even insruance accepted the cash,since your driving on your own name now,and 3k is practially a norm nowadays for people who get insured 1st time on their own name,rather then paying such money just wait another yr and think most insurer only ask if there were any claims in last 3yrs,and once have some ncb shop around for better quotes,next year,then should be able to get quotes under 1k with little to no issues.

loveisdivine

Yeah, it would have been more useful to have done it at the time of the accident really.

Sue Pa Key Pa

At the 1st renewal date, after the claim was settled, your husband would have the option of repaying his insurer the value of the claim to have his bonus reinstated. If he had protected NCB, there would be no benefit to doing this. Repaying a claim to an insurer does not remove the requirement to declare the accident to potential insurers

scamalert

on the same topic what way claim is counted is it once first declared to insurer or is it only when closed,that time counts,when question is asked no claims in x years ?

Sue Pa Key Pa

scamalert wrote: »

on the same topic what way claim is counted is it once first declared to insurer or is it only when closed,that time counts,when question is asked no claims in x years ?

The date of the incident, though some insurers will want to know if there are any 'open' claims at the time you are making the declaration

scamalert

Sue Pa Key Pa wrote: »

The date of the incident, though some insurers will want to know if there are any 'open' claims at the time you are making the declaration

thx that makes sense.

muggles

Apologies in advance if asked previously or mentioned elsewhere. I've tried to do a search but to no avail.

Does anyone have a list of the insurance companies currently operating in Ireland under Freedom of Services and where they are being regulated from? I have checked the MIBI website but can't seem to find the information there.

spannerism

Hi all,

I have 3 questions:

Question 1:
I have fully comp insurance with no optional extras. If I am the cause of an accident and I get injured, does the insurance companies pay me for medical expenses (e.g hospital, possible operations, etc)?

Question 2:
I have fully comp insurance with no optional extras. If I am the cause of an accident and a passenger in my car get injured, does the insurance companies pay for my passengers medical expenses (e.g hospital, possible operations, etc)


Question 3:
I have fully comp insurance with the 'personal injury' optional extra. If I am the cause of an accident and I get injured or if the named drivers are driving and get injured, does the insurance companies pay me for medical expenses (e.g hospital, possible operations, etc)? By taking this optional extra, I think there will be some level of medical expenses involved.

Am in the process of renewing my cover but these 3 questions popped in my head. I'm debating to take an optional extra or not.

Thanks in advance for your help
spanner

Sue Pa Key Pa

1. No
2. Yes
3. The Personal Injuries section of a policy pays minimal costs (couple of hundred Euro) to the policyholder. There is a separate benefit for death, loss of limb etc., again not big levels. In the event of you being the cause of the accident, any passengers are treated as 3rd parties and can claim for the full extent of their loss

lorflower086

Can I ask ....if I buy a car that was originally an uk car but has been in ireland a few yrs would the fact that the speedometer is in MPH affect the insurance ?
Ie if I was in an accident and the insurance company sees it in MPH not KPH could that invalidate the insurance.?
Should it be declared while looking for insurance that it is MPH not KPH.
Thanks

Liam McPoyle

lorflower086 wrote: »

Can I ask ....if I buy a car that was originally an uk car but has been in ireland a few yrs would the fact that the speedometer is in MPH affect the insurance ?
Ie if I was in an accident and the insurance company sees it in MPH not KPH could that invalidate the insurance.?
Should it be declared while looking for insurance that it is MPH not KPH.
Thanks

Makes no difference whatsoever.

You won't be asked how many miles are in it in any case.

cilim75

can anyone help with this one, I had my incident (really minor one, we thought there was no damage and left scene without exchanging details). Got phone call from guards next day about this, the other person claiming damage was much more than she thought (bumper ...). I said I was involved and other person contacted me. Asked her to settle without involving insurance. She gave me quote of 750 Euro by some garage. I am reluctant to go through my insurance as I already had a claim couple of months ago and I would lose my last 2 year of no claim bonus (it was step back protection). Is it worth paying other person or should I involve my insurance?

Liam McPoyle

cilim75 wrote: »

can anyone help with this one, I had my incident (really minor one, we thought there was no damage and left scene without exchanging details). Got phone call from guards next day about this, the other person claiming damage was much more than she thought (bumper ...). I said I was involved and other person contacted me. Asked her to settle without involving insurance. She gave me quote of 750 Euro by some garage. I am reluctant to go through my insurance as I already had a claim couple of months ago and I would lose my last 2 year of no claim bonus (it was step back protection). Is it worth paying other person or should I involve my insurance?

You need to notify your insurer.

I wouldn't at all be surprised if she is in the process of getting a doctors cert to say she has a personal injury as a result of the accident and is planning on lodging a claim.

cilim75

thanks for quick response, she seems genuine, she said she would go to different garage (of my choosing) for second opinion. How can I be sure that she won't take (money) if I decide to settle and still go ahead and claim through insurance ? If I pay money to her bank account, would that be proof that we settled ?

Sue Pa Key Pa

cilim75 wrote: »

thanks for quick response, she seems genuine, she said she would go to different garage (of my choosing) for second opinion. How can I be sure that she won't take (money) if I decide to settle and still go ahead and claim through insurance ? If I pay money to her bank account, would that be proof that we settled ?

As Rod said, notify your insurer, you are obliged to under your contract. The lower quote could be to ensure you pay and accept liability. Then an injury claim comes in and your insurers will not be best pleased you've done that.

To answer your specific question, she can't claim twice for the same damage. A satisfaction note signed by her should suffice, but like I say, that won't stop an injury claim

Xcellor

cilim75 wrote: »

can anyone help with this one, I had my incident (really minor one, we thought there was no damage and left scene without exchanging details). Got phone call from guards next day about this, the other person claiming damage was much more than she thought (bumper ...). I said I was involved and other person contacted me. Asked her to settle without involving insurance. She gave me quote of 750 Euro by some garage. I am reluctant to go through my insurance as I already had a claim couple of months ago and I would lose my last 2 year of no claim bonus (it was step back protection). Is it worth paying other person or should I involve my insurance?

This can happen.

I was rear ended once. When I got out to inspect there was no noticeable damage so told her to drive on. It wasn't until later when I opened my boot and then tried to close it again I realised the bumper support and catch for boot had been pushed back. Boot wouldn't close.It wasn't severe and with a bit of effort I could fix it... So sometimes this can be the case, with my old car I didnt care but if you had a newish car it would be a problem.

Most body work costs money more for the labour id imagine, removing parts can take time...

cilim75

Xcellor wrote: »

This can happen.

I was rear ended once. When I got out to inspect there was no noticeable damage so told her to drive on. It wasn't until later when I opened my boot and then tried to close it again I realised the bumper support and catch for boot had been pushed back. Boot wouldn't close.It wasn't severe and with a bit of effort I could fix it... So sometimes this can be the case, with my old car I didnt care but if you had a newish car it would be a problem.

Most body work costs money more for the labour id imagine, removing parts can take time...

thanks, you all been really helpful, trying to ring my insurance but 123.ie has joke of customer support, been on hold for 20 min and than they cut me off :mad: few times!

scamalert

Ok serious question had PI claim for last 4+ years due to named driver having accident on my insurance,after a year back in 2014 cancelled insurance and remained named driver with same company on family members policy.

Now liberty took rounds and their time to resolve pi claim which i never got any answers just told that its been passed off to lawyers etc and wait.

Recently took out letter from online to get named driver experience and in the letter under claims accidents to my name theres no dates mentioning any claims since 2012,

basically claims dates are blank spaces and on status it says N/A not applicable or whatever it might mean.

Now customer service is utter disgust since had 3 people change overlooking the open claim in years and when tried to get in touch with last person couldn't reach person since person is out on maternity leave and replacement number was out of order as not working,sent of email to general insurance query and got 0 response.

Anyway this pi claim has been stick in the but for the last years and i need my own policy,but with that said letter indicates no open claims of any sort,and given how its been handled ive no idea has it even been closed off or still dragging.

Any advice or idea,since letter for named driver seems clean for last almost 6yrs,but no idea on actual claim and was it settled.

October

The named driver experience letter only refers to that specific policy so it is correct that there is no mention of any claims under that policy. The policy would be unlikely to be linked to your old policy. You would need your old policy number and contact them for a letter specific to that policy.

DrFunkatron

Haven't had a car in a good few years and only got a full license recently so I'm using online quotations to see what my insurance is likely to be on a few different models, would calling companies lead to cheaper quotes than the online calculators? I'm getting quotes from 2200 to 5000+ on cars up to 1.6 litre, in my early 30s. :eek:

I don't want to be ringing anyone without having the car bought only to find things have changed for the worse if you get me.

Masala

I see FBD have a 'Open-Driven ' option on my last search. this means that I can let anyone over 25 drive my car. Am I right#???

If so...will it not be easier to take this option and let my 25 yr old son drive it! So - no need for Named Drivers! And so no need for a hefty add-on cost to name him either! I dont think for Open Driven that the other person must have Insurance in his own name etc??

Am I reading this all wrong???

PaddyWilliams

Masala wrote: »

I see FBD have a 'Open-Driven ' option on my last search. this means that I can let anyone over 25 drive my car. Am I right#???

If so...will it not be easier to take this option and let my 25 yr old son drive it! So - no need for Named Drivers! And so no need for a hefty add-on cost to name him either! I dont think for Open Driven that the other person must have Insurance in his own name etc??

Am I reading this all wrong???

I believe that you are wrong, but I'm open to correction on that. If he was to have an accident, he'd need to have his own insurance to deal with it, I would have thought?

scamalert

https://www.quoteme.ie/blog/open-driving-other-cars-insurance

theres difference between driving other cars and open driving,as per website,it seems open driving if smth were to happen would be taken out of policy holder,and yes it doesn't mention having another car, conditions are 25y,full license and permission ,but as with anything its worth to read into fine print whats covered under it with different companies.

Since as with mine case even named driver had accident and PI claim was put on both,now legalities of it focus on person who was in accident but policy holder also has outsanding open claim to his name due to it from perspective of insurer and theres f all can be done,until its settled,when $hit happens.