Car Insurance claim

Chris

Registered User
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Hi all, just wondering if someone has some advise.
I had an accident in my girlfriends car for which I'm a named driver on the policy. So far everything has gone smoothly with logging the claim and the ball is rolling. I'm just wondering whether I have to inform my own insurance company, for the second car, about the accident at this stage, or whether I do this when it comes to renewal? The girlfriend is insured with Quinn Direct, and one person there said we need to do this now, and another said it needn't be done until renewal.
Anybody have an idea?
 
You'll have to notify your own insurer before renewal that you've had a claim — albeit on a different policy — as this will probably affect your premium (unless it's covered by NCB protection? You don't say what the amount involved is...)

Not much point in leaving it to the very last minute, as they'll probably send you out a renewal 'invitation' based on the assumption that you've remained claim/accident-free. When they hear about the claim, your premium will probably be revised upwards. So you might as well give them the full details before then, see what they quote you for renewal, and leave yourself time to shop around for a better quote if you can get one...(?)
 
Thanks DrMoriarty.
There is only physical damage no personal injuries. The estimate is for €3100. Anyone know how much this might change my policy by? Insurance company can't give a figure until renewal date.

Thanks
 
Chris said:
There is only physical damage no personal injuries.
Well, that's something to be thankful for, at least...
Chris said:
The estimate is for €3100. Anyone know how much this might change my policy by?
That'll depend on what your NCB was to begin with, and whether you had any NCB protection in place. Some policies include (at extra cost) the option of 'full' NCB protection - typically, you can incur claims of up to €3000 or so in any 3-year period without affecting your NCB; others operate a partial or 'step-back' system whereby your NCB drops, say from 55% to 20%, but isn't completely lost*. Your insurer mightn't give you a precise quote just yet, but they should at least be able to confirm whether or not you have some kind of NCB protection (this should also be indicated somewhere in your Schedule and/or any 'endordements' issued since...)

[*e.g. former premium = €500 incl. 55% NCB
=> notional 'gross' premium was €1,111.11
=> renewal premium will be approx. €1,111.11 -20% = €888.89
(all else being equal), then €1,111.11 -30% the following year,
€1,111.11 -40% the year after that, etc. etc.]

If you have the former, it might make better sense - presuming you have the option - to absorb €100.01 of the claim yourself, thereby keeping your full NCB intact (but with no further margin for any other claims in the next three years!) But you would need to agree this with both insurers beforehand...
 
It was my fault. I slipped off the break peddle on the approach to a roundabout and went into the back of her.
 
If you have a policy in your own name, with the DRIVING OTHER CARS extension, they you should report it to your own company, and it wil lbe them and not your girlfriends policy that will deal with the claim. If you have this extension, remember, it si the drivers policy, not the owners, that picks up the tab. Some companies share it equally between driver and owner. However, no matter what policy deals with the claim, it is the drivers ncb that is affected, not the owners, even if there is also a clai mby the owner.
 
Thanks all for the infor.
I have been on to my own insurance company and they were saying that my girlfriends will pass on the claim to them. So far it's been a fairly painless process.
 
[*e.g. former premium = €500 incl. 55% NCB
=> notional 'gross' premium was €1,111.11
=> renewal premium will be approx. €1,111.11 -20% = €888.89
(all else being equal), then €1,111.11 -30% the following year,
€1,111.11 -40% the year after that, etc. etc.]

I know every policy will be different, but is the 55% figure an accurate ballpark figure for what a full NCB is worth?
 
It varies from provider to provider. I once had a policy with Hibernian which, IIRC, placed a 70% value on a full NCB. But given the anecdotal evidence here and elsewhere about the apparently arbitrary way in which premium quotes are arrived at, it may not make much difference. If insurer A quotes a gross premium of €1,200 and applies a 55% NCB discount, and insurer B quotes a gross premium of €1,800 and applies a 70% NCB discount, you're looking at the same net premium...

When seeking quotes, of course, you should always ask
(a) what the NCB 'bands' are
(b) whether 'step-back' protection is included, and how it operates
(c) whether there's an option to include full NCB protection, and at what additional premium, and
(d) whether they offer a discount for holding more than one policy with them. (For example, that Hibernian policy I mentioned included a 10% discount because my wife and I each Hibernian held life policies)
 
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