It must say, I find this loss of no claims bonus in most cases very unfair and unreasonable to the policy holder. I can understand that as a motorist, if I do not pay due care and attention on the roads and have an accident that arises due to my negligence, insurers will load my premium....if I'm a bad driver, I'm a poor risk and should pay a higher premium.
However, as a house holder, if next door burns down and damages my property...I make a claim and my premium is loaded. If lightning hits my house and I make a claim, my premium is loaded. Despite having an alarm and suitable locks, if my home is burglarised and I claim....my premium is loaded. Insurers say that my premium is not being loaded, but I am merely losing a "bonus" I otherwise would have got....I don't think many accept the validity of this argument. What compounds this problem is that most insurers will not quote in the event that the proposer has made any claim within the previous three years.
In reality, the financial penalties of large excesses and increased premiums together with being a captive for at least three years with your current insurer at increased premiums, to me demonstrate that unless your financial circumstances dictate otherwise, it really isn't worth your while making a claim unless the damage is extensive. It would be niaive to think that this is not what insurers have intended.
The real problem is that for household insurance, the premiums are too low. None of the insurers will grasp the nettle and increase the premium to an appropriate level which would allow them to reduce excess and to in essence stop policy holders for being punished for suffering misfortune to their properties and having to make a claim. Infact, the opposite is happening....some insurers are offering ridiculously low premiums which to the householders seem excellent value.