No claims bonus...or not

pastorbarrett · 13-09-2016 5:33pm #1

Hello,

I'm confused as to the wording on my no claims bonus info that came with my renewal information. It seems contradictory and wondering if somebody in the know may be able to decipher...

It goes along the lines of, 'this is to confirm that Mr X has earned a 10% no claims bonus representing 0 years no claims driving'

I had no step back protection etc but did have a theft and claim awarded to me. First year of driving.

Thanks.

Liam McPoyle · 13-09-2016 5:45pm

meridiangroup wrote: »

Hello,

I'm confused as to the wording on my no claims bonus info that came with my renewal information. It seems contradictory and wondering if somebody in the know may be able to decipher...

It goes along the lines of, 'this is to confirm that Mr X has earned a 10% no claims bonus representing 0 years no claims driving'

I had no step back protection etc but did have a theft and claim awarded to me. First year of driving.

Thanks.

You have one year bonus but are not claims free.

Its how most insurers will issue the bonus.

Even though there was no penalty applied to you for the theft claim and as a result you are entitled to a one year bonus, you aren't claims free.

Does that make sense?

pastorbarrett · 13-09-2016 5:47pm

Saul T Nutzz wrote: »

You have one year bonus but are not claims free.

Its how most insurers will issue the bonus.

Even though there was no penalty applied to you for the theft claim and as a result you are entitled to a one year bonus, you aren't claims free.

Does that make sense?

Thanks for the info. So presumably I need to declare this claim on online applications etc and it will impact my premium? Seems contradictory to issue someone a no claims bonus but still potentially impact their new premium. Apologies if I'm misunderstanding here...

Basically I'm wondering if I can legitimately declare 1 year no claims driving now...

Liam McPoyle · 13-09-2016 6:16pm

meridiangroup wrote: »

Thanks for the info. So presumably I need to declare this claim on online applications etc and it will impact my premium? Seems contradictory to issue someone a no claims bonus but still potentially impact their new premium. Apologies if I'm misunderstanding here...

Basically I'm wondering if I can legitimately declare 1 year no claims driving now...

You are obliged to declare any claims you are involved in.

As your existing insurer is not penalising you, ie they are giving you a one year bonus even though you had a claim, then other insurers should not financially penalise you.

You may however have difficulty getting quotes due to the claim, its unlikely as it was a non fault claim however it's possible.

Best bet is to ring companies directly most online engines won't let you buy a policy if you have had a claim.

pastorbarrett · 22-09-2016 11:52am

Saul T Nutzz wrote: »

You are obliged to declare any claims you are involved in.

As your existing insurer is not penalising you, ie they are giving you a one year bonus even though you had a claim, then other insurers should not financially penalise you.

You may however have difficulty getting quotes due to the claim, its unlikely as it was a non fault claim however it's possible.

Best bet is to ring companies directly most online engines won't let you buy a policy if you have had a claim.

So, Saul T Nutzz and maybe others in the know, can you help with this development...

As stated above, my no claims bonus letter received when the policy expired stated 'this is to confirm that Mr X has earned a 10% no claims bonus representing 0 years no claims driving'. The letter also had info relating to the theft claim, but with the at fault section' marked TBD' and amount paid 'TBD.' This despite the claim being paid out a long time ago (it was paid out well before the policy expired). In actuality, this was all in was my first year of insurance, back in 2013/14.

I have subsequently declared to my new insurer that I had the theft claim, it's been paid etc, also had the the 10% no claims bonus,and issued them with the letter above and took out a new policy. My current insurer asked for the clarification on the TBD sections, and so I asked my old insurer for this. They wrote back now that it's settled, however in addition a have now marked my no claims bonus at 0%. Nearly three years after the fact.

What should I do here, particularly in light of my new policy?

Many thanks....

pastorbarrett · 27-09-2016 8:08pm

Can anybody offer any insight on the above? Old insurer is telling me that it's not in fact the % issued but the years which are of importance.

j.s. pill II · 27-09-2016 9:07pm

Can I ask how long you have had the policy in your own name for? You allude to the claim occurring during the 2013/14 policy period.

Can you give me an idea aswell of when the claim was settled (not when the claim occurred)?

To me, this should be a very straight forward issue. If your theft claim has indeed been settled and the terms of your original policy dictate that theft claims do not affect your NCB (as is most often the case) then your NCB should be intact. If your claim was settled in the last year, then the 0 years claims free part is indeed correct as others have suggested.

I would suspect something is seriously up if your old insurer is now saying you have 0% NCB also. Many things could have went wrong here - I would reckon it's human/system error. Just bear in mind that the systems that the insurers use aren't always foolproof and claims and underwriting systems and departments don't often communicate perfectly. My reckoning is you will just have to iron this out with your old insurer over the phone (or with your broker if the policy was through a broker - brokers should have plenty of experience of dealing with scenarios like these). Given that there have been a series of f**k ups so far, you might even see if you can speak to a supervisor directly on this one (don't request this in a narky way though

- be nice!).

pastorbarrett · 28-09-2016 11:08am

@j.s. pill II , the policy concerned was in my own name for a 1 year period, from Sep 2013 until the following September. The claim was paid out early summer 2014, so before the policy expired (I'd have to check my records for exact date).

The kicker for me now is my current insurer asked for clarification on the NCB issued from that year, i.e. details relating to theft, proof of it being settled, as the original letter furnished when policy expired didn't have this, likely in error. The newly issued one, from now, amends the settlement info and now retracts the 10% bonus. And so I've had to kick-up more dough as a result.

I must also check my terms of original policy to see what they state.

Many Thanks.

j.s. pill II · 28-09-2016 6:33pm

meridiangroup wrote: »

@j.s. pill II , the policy concerned was in my own name for a 1 year period, from Sep 2013 until the following September. The claim was paid out early summer 2014, so before the policy expired (I'd have to check my records for exact date).

The kicker for me now is my current insurer asked for clarification on the NCB issued from that year, i.e. details relating to theft, proof of it being settled, as the original letter furnished when policy expired didn't have this, likely in error. The newly issued one, from now, amends the settlement info and now retracts the 10% bonus. And so I've had to kick-up more dough as a result.

I must also check my terms of original policy to see what they state.

Many Thanks.

OK I think we need to back up a little bit first.

Your first post states you were confused with the NCB that came with your renewal information (all insurers should issue a NCB with a renewal notice). You then allude to your new insurer. You also alluded in your last post that your policy expired in 2013/14. I'm just slightly confused myself - so I will ask:

- Did you renew this policy with the existing insurer at the end of the 2013/14 period; did you renew with another company or did you let this policy lapse and not take out insurance anywhere else?

- If you have maintained cover since 2013/14, can I ask you to clarify when you had tried to switch insurance companies. Was it this year? Was it last year and is your current insurer querying the NCB document that you submitted last year?

No claims bonus...or not

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