NCB - insurance companies... Top Tip.

[onesea]

With a week to go and having done my research for new insurance, I phoned my last insurance company to see if they could do better and confirm my no claims bonus.

I was told I have 4 years, I thought it was 5. I questioned this I had to get quite specific:

"If I don't have and accident before your policy runs out I will have 5?"

"Well I cannot say that, directly you could make a claim before the policy ends."

"In the event I do not make a claim I will have 5 that's correct?"

"Yes."

Well that shopping saved me well over £100 pounds....

They don't do anything to gain trust.

[FallingDown]

With a week to go and having done my research for new insurance, I phoned my last insurance company to see if they could do better and confirm my no claims bonus.

I was told I have 4 years, I thought it was 5. I questioned this I had to get quite specific:

"If I don't have and accident before your policy runs out I will have 5?"

"Well I cannot say that, directly you could make a claim before the policy ends."

"In the event I do not make a claim I will have 5 that's correct?"

"Yes."

Well that shopping saved me well over £100 pounds....

They don't do anything to gain trust.

 

Thanks for that onesea. Good info as I bet they all do that.

As someone quite happy to cut my nose off to spite my face I don't think I've ever used the same company 2 years in a row. Just before renewal they send me a ridiculously overpriced quote. When I ring to cancel and they say "oh, we can get that lower for you..." I politely tell them that I'm quite sure a reputable company as theirs would have sent me there best quote already rather that artificially inflate it to profit from people who don't ship around. I know this doesn't make it back to anyone important in the company. I know it won't make the slightest bit of difference to the industry, but it makes me feel good and that's what I'm generally all about

[onesea]

They are Sh1t's

Not long ago it cost me £50 admin fee to change a bike on my insurance but it was also £50 cancellation so I left it run.

My other half changed cars and it was cheaper insure her new car with no NCB and to continue her old policy for 2 weeks and cancel it when the car sold.

I just had not had this trick tried before...

[Mr Fro]

What was the trick?

All I'm seeing is them telling you accurately your NCB.

[Stu]

Whenever I get my renewal it tells me how many years no claims I have got and it is always 1 more than the previous year!

I don't think it's a "trick" I think you got an operator who was probably reading your old policy or not having a clue what they are doing

[Mississippi Bullfrog]

One thing to be wary of it how companies count their maximum NCD. I switched insurers taking 10+ years no claims with me. A couple of years later I switched again, still claiming 10+ years NCD.

Unfortunately I hadn't spotted that the company I'd first switched to counted their max NCD as 5 years, so the second time I switched the new insurers only gave me 5 years NCD as that was what was showing on the last renewal.

Losing 5+ years NCD simply by switching insurers did not make me happy.

[JackieOWheels]

One thing to be wary of it how companies count their maximum NCD. I switched insurers taking 10+ years no claims with me. A couple of years later I switched again, still claiming 10+ years NCD.

Unfortunately I hadn't spotted that the company I'd first switched to counted their max NCD as 5 years, so the second time I switched the new insurers only gave me 5 years NCD as that was what was showing on the last renewal.

Losing 5+ years NCD simply by switching insurers did not make me happy.

 

Now that's a top tip! Best to read the fine prints folk.

Thanks [mention]Mississippi Bullfrog[/mention] for this info!

[Gerontious]

One thing to be wary of it how companies count their maximum NCD. I switched insurers taking 10+ years no claims with me. A couple of years later I switched again, still claiming 10+ years NCD.

Unfortunately I hadn't spotted that the company I'd first switched to counted their max NCD as 5 years, so the second time I switched the new insurers only gave me 5 years NCD as that was what was showing on the last renewal.

Losing 5+ years NCD simply by switching insurers did not make me happy.

 

discounting is capped at anywhere between 4 and 6 years.. and 6 years is quite rare. its generally 4. The level at which its capped is down to the policies of individual underwriters.

Im insured by AXA and they only offer a maximum of 4yrs. which is OK as my policy on the Africa Twin has been reduced by almost £60 compared with year 1.

my actual NCB is 18yrs.. as I was forced to give up the bike for just over 2 years when i bought my house (and times were hard) In reality it should date back to my last claim in 1995.

This year my premium is £122.80 FC which isnt bad for a bike worth £10,000+ and with zero security aside from the H.I.S.S.

(and no garage)

They treat my back garden as a "locked compound", which it effectively is.. a major upping the stakes to the usual "parked off road".. which can mean anything. (driveway?)

Anyway.. what this all means is the rather long length of NCB I currently have has no importance except to me. #Smug. If the bike was stolen tomorrow.. I would be back up to the maximum NCB in 4 years.

I would suggest that my top tip is, if you can park your bike out of sight in your own back garden or on your patio. and providing the garden is fully fenced with them being at least 6' high. and you can lock your gate (point of entry) then be sure to mention this and maybe your garden will be treated as a "locked compound" too. which gains major brownie points from the underwriters.

Edited March 5, 2020 by Gerontious

[Stu]

Anyway.. what this all means is the rather long length of NCB I currently have has no importance except to me. #Smug. If the bike was stolen tomorrow.. I would be back up to the maximum NCB in 4 years.

 

Probably less if you have protected no claims as they don't take it all off you.

Sometimes they take nothing on a first claim sometimes up to 3 years it depends on the policy.

[Mississippi Bullfrog]

Anyway.. what this all means is the rather long length of NCB I currently have has no importance except to me. #Smug. If the bike was stolen tomorrow.. I would be back up to the maximum NCB in 4 years.

 

Probably less if you have protected no claims as they don't take it all off you.

Sometimes they take nothing on a first claim sometimes up to 3 years it depends on the policy.

 

I have always been wary of protected no claims - my experience was that they protected the no claim discount but increased the premium after a no fault claim. So in effect the amount I paid still went up by the same amount as if I'd lost a year's NCD. Just another con for the unwary.

[Stu]

Anyway.. what this all means is the rather long length of NCB I currently have has no importance except to me. #Smug. If the bike was stolen tomorrow.. I would be back up to the maximum NCB in 4 years.

 

Probably less if you have protected no claims as they don't take it all off you.

Sometimes they take nothing on a first claim sometimes up to 3 years it depends on the policy.

 

I have always been wary of protected no claims - my experience was that they protected the no claim discount but increased the premium after a no fault claim. So in effect the amount I paid still went up by the same amount as if I'd lost a year's NCD. Just another con for the unwary.

 

But if you lose 5 years no claims it would go up and you wouldn't have any discount

[Mississippi Bullfrog]

Probably less if you have protected no claims as they don't take it all off you.

Sometimes they take nothing on a first claim sometimes up to 3 years it depends on the policy.

 

I have always been wary of protected no claims - my experience was that they protected the no claim discount but increased the premium after a no fault claim. So in effect the amount I paid still went up by the same amount as if I'd lost a year's NCD. Just another con for the unwary.

 

But if you lose 5 years no claims it would go up and you wouldn't have any discount

 

They usually drop a year per claim rather than the whole NCD. At least when I've had to claim that's been the case - that's with cars rather than bikes as so far I've never claimed on bike insurance. What I hadn't bargained on was that I still kept my NCD in terms of percentage, but after the premium had been hiked I still ended up paying more for my insurance. So paying the extra for protected NCD plus the extra premium outweighed what I would have saved by keeping one year's NCD in the long run.

[S-Westerly]

From what I see the insurance companies seem to just make up the rules as they go along. There's precious little rationality or consistency. Quotes can vary enormously as well and the automatic renewals are usually just rip-offs. Really ticks me off!

[smallfrowne]

My top tip is to buy shit old bikes and insure them as classics. Mine is about £200 including EU breakdown for about 4 or 5 shitters in the garage. I don't accrue ncb, and they don't discount for it, but if I was to move insurers or sell up and buy something decent and new that they don't cover, would I be able to say I've not had a claim in 5 years and here's my 5years ncb? I'm not sure because I don't really have the magic ncb "certificates". Hmm, bloody insurance.

[dynax]

My insurance is due for renewal next month currently with Bikesure, i will have my 1st ncb so will be interesting to see what my premium will be for this year, last year was £600 fully comp for Xena then an extra £70 in October when i added Bridget, i will leave it for a couple more weeks though then start shopping around

[Mississippi Bullfrog]

My top tip is to buy shit old bikes and insure them as classics. Mine is about £200 including EU breakdown for about 4 or 5 shitters in the garage. I don't accrue ncb, and they don't discount for it, but if I was to move insurers or sell up and buy something decent and new that they don't cover, would I be able to say I've not had a claim in 5 years and here's my 5years ncb? I'm not sure because I don't really have the magic ncb "certificates". Hmm, bloody insurance.

 

No. When I ran classic cars I had similar policies. Cheap to insure but you don't get a NCD. When I packed in running classic cars and needed another car the many years of claim free driving counted for nothing.

[Stu]

They usually drop a year per claim rather than the whole NCD. At least when I've had to claim that's been the case - that's with cars rather than bikes as so far I've never claimed on bike insurance. What I hadn't bargained on was that I still kept my NCD in terms of percentage, but after the premium had been hiked I still ended up paying more for my insurance. So paying the extra for protected NCD plus the extra premium outweighed what I would have saved by keeping one year's NCD in the long run.

 

I believe it depends on the severity of the claim as to what you lose! or at least in my experience it has been

[Six30]

my top tip is dont change your bike midway through your policy, if you do dig deep cause the robbing bast*rds will have your pants down...

i wont mention any company names... cause Stu will bollock me

[Stu]

my top tip is dont change your bike midway through your policy, if you do dig deep cause the robbing bast*rds will have your pants down...

i wont mention any company names... cause Stu will bollock me

 

Thats all companies!!

Same with when I moved house!

Hello is that bennetts? yes that will be £35 please

[Six30]

my top tip is dont change your bike midway through your policy, if you do dig deep cause the robbing bast*rds will have your pants down...

i wont mention any company names... cause Stu will bollock me

 

Thats all companies!!

Same with when I moved house!

Hello is that bennetts? yes that will be £35 please

 

£35... thats different to we want a tenner short of what you paid for the full year for the 7 months left on your policy

[Stu]

my top tip is dont change your bike midway through your policy, if you do dig deep cause the robbing bast*rds will have your pants down...

i wont mention any company names... cause Stu will bollock me

 

Thats all companies!!

Same with when I moved house!

Hello is that bennetts? yes that will be £35 please

 

£35... thats different to we want a tenner short of what you paid for the full year for the 7 months left on your policy

 

When I changed bike MCE wanted over £350 and tried to take my NCB off me! so I told them to shove it up their arse and cancel the policy to which they tried to with hold my refund for 90 days!!

I had to get insurance ombudsman involved

[Six30]

Thats all companies!!

Same with when I moved house!

Hello is that bennetts? yes that will be £35 please

 

£35... thats different to we want a tenner short of what you paid for the full year for the 7 months left on your policy

 

When I changed bike MCE wanted over £350 and tried to take my NCB off me! so I told them to shove it up their arse and cancel the policy to which they tried to with hold my refund for 90 days!!

I had to get insurance ombudsman involved

 

it was cheaper for me to cancel policy and take out another one for a year with a different company

[Stu]

£35... thats different to we want a tenner short of what you paid for the full year for the 7 months left on your policy

 

When I changed bike MCE wanted over £350 and tried to take my NCB off me! so I told them to shove it up their arse and cancel the policy to which they tried to with hold my refund for 90 days!!

I had to get insurance ombudsman involved

 

it was cheaper for me to cancel policy and take out another one for a year with a different company

 

They must have seen you ride

It makes you wonder if they have quoted for a new policy instead of transferring it

[Six30]

When I changed bike MCE wanted over £350 and tried to take my NCB off me! so I told them to shove it up their arse and cancel the policy to which they tried to with hold my refund for 90 days!!

I had to get insurance ombudsman involved

 

it was cheaper for me to cancel policy and take out another one for a year with a different company

 

They must have seen you ride

It makes you wonder if they have quoted for a new policy instead of transferring it

 

no, it was transferring it, that's insurance companies for , until something like that or making a claim happens you find out what they are really like.

[Stu]

it was cheaper for me to cancel policy and take out another one for a year with a different company

 

They must have seen you ride

It makes you wonder if they have quoted for a new policy instead of transferring it

 

no, it was transferring it, that's insurance companies for , until something like that or making a claim happens you find out what they are really like.

 

Yeah tell me about it I have heard plenty of people say MCE are good!! yet they have never dealt with them