Be Excellent To Each Other

Last year, I took out my Car Insurance through the Direct Line website. When I entered my details, the drop down list for NCB was 1,2,3,4,5 (maximum). Having 7 years NCB, I chose that option. This year, having not made a claim, my NCB is based upon 6 years no claims, and you can now select > 5 years on their website.

What are my rights here? Is this theft/attempt to defraud? What is the best way to get my NCB back? Or am I screwed?

TIA.

In the grand scheme of things, it doesn't really matter too much. The £10 saving, is it really worth worrying about, as it'll take say 3 hours of work to get that back, which is £3.33 an hour?

EDIT: Or, write to them, asking about it, get a certificate from 2 years back saying 5, point out there's not been a claim, so can you have 7?

Yeah, I am going to contact them, but am I correct in thinking that if I do make a claim I don't lose ALL my NCB, they just take off a certain amount of years. Therefore the more I have, the more accidents I can have before I have no NCB? Or is this just bollocks?

I'm pretty sure you lose it all if you claim, unless you have it protected.

I lost three years worth when I went without a car for two years back in 2002-04. Please someone remind me to get a new car by Dec 2011.

As far as I understand it, if you have x years no claims and then make a claim you reset to zero, unless you've protected the no claims which costs £y. If £y > £difference between 5 years NCB and 0 years NCB then I wouldn't bother.

I have protected NCB as 8 years NCB living in London halves the premium.

Well that was surprisingly easy to sort. I rang them up, and they are going to send me evidence of 8 years. I get the feeling I could have said 500 years and they would have sent evidence.

Good oh.

I've never heard that before. If you claim then you can't expect a no claims bonus, surely?
I've got 14 years now (touch wood).

Most policies I've had over the last few years take off a few years for a claim, rather than reset to zero. Whatever the policy, it'll be clearly explained in the policy.

That makes no sense in my head at all.

Insurance companies generally only use a max. of 5-9 years NCB (depending on the insurer) regardless of how many you've got. Any after that won't make a difference to th premium.

Going from 5 to 8 saved me £30.

Sainsburys accepted and required proof of 7, but told me over the phone that there's no extra discount beyond 5. Which is slightly odd.

Having worked in that shitty industry, maximum - as long as it is generally over 4 or five years is exactly that, not that it means anything at all really.

The software is based on some Actuary who assessed the risk bitd, it will not go lower than a certain premium, and in certain post codes it will be much higher than others, e.g. a BT postcode will immediately 'fail' with many companies, but prejudices extend beyond the 'troubles'.

A CF postcode, is massively frowned upon due to high vandalism rates, even though a CF could mean that you live in Ely (shit), Cyncoed (good) or Bridgend (a totally different town some 25 minutes away.

(I am generalising massively)

Essentially, when they have your details, they will set a minimum premium and work upwards... the discount means fuck all. You can shuffle the premium downwards until you reach that 'minimum' but most operatives are given a discount which is given discretionally - and therefore discouraged.

E.G.

You want a comp blah-blah with protected NCB of 'seven years'... you have been quoted 350 quid.

It's gone up from 280 squids.

You phone up , go through the shizzle and puter throws up £325 (new policies are ALWAYS cheaper - unless you killed someone, or done a bad).

You um and ah, say that you were quoted cheaper and don't want to move....

How many years NCB (nop claims) sir?

7 You say?

Perhaps I can get you a little more....

>> Normally chaps and chappesses have up to 20% leeway, and nearer the end of the month are more likely to use it.

Sir, if you take this NOW I can give it to you for £299, if you would like to give me your card number...

<< i only gave 10 % and hit my sales target! Woo!

6759...etc and that's 8 years no claims... well done sir.

<< the number as long as it is +4 means fuck all. Admin can chase it up.

That's basically how it works.

Gash
x

p.s. A little trollied so if it sounds garbled, it probably is.

Nah, I believe you.
So the NCB is essentially just a bargaining token, with the notional value of suggesting that you don't crash very often (which statistically speaking probably means bugger all anyway).
I always say 5 years, have never been asked to prove it so far. I'd have a hard time doing so anyway because there's all sorts of daft "rules" about transferring it from other vehicles or not having had breaks and all the rest of it.

I phoned up my company this evening to transfer my insurance from one van to another nearly identical one (having resusted the temptation to just swap the number plates). Miraculously they agreed, for only a £25 administration fee. Fair enough!

Pretty much... if you haven't caused a crash in 5 years, you're worth 799 bananas.

Gash
x

Might have been less if we didnt see that debris on the motorway

Nearly crashed with Dave on the way home, too.

Haven't caused (or been in one) since I started driving in, alarmingly, 1993. Touch wood.

Christ, 1993.

I haven't crashed in....oh.

Damn, you're old.
I like cock.

I only started driving seven years after that, and I don't feel that old.

When I worked in motor insurance (20 years ago) you did not lose all your NCB if you claimed.

Basically, if you had 5 it went to 2, 4 to 1, 3 to 1 (sometimes), 2 to 0.

Some PNCBs changeds your actual NCB, but not that you would notice. It was given on 5 years and a claim would drop you to 4 but give the same overall discount (it was +10% for the PNCB, which was the difference between 4 and 5 years anyway.