When to claim on insurance ..general rule of thumb

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I have only once ever claimed on my insurance and it was about 12 years ago. I now have a dent on my car door and the repairs are €850 so more than a minor repair. Trying to figure out if it's worth claiming on the insurance or will my next premium increase exactly in line with my claim?
 
In order to estimate the impact, you'd need to work off your last insurance premium and how much of ano claims bonus you have. Do you have no claims protection as part of your policy?
(Assuming you have fully comprehensive cover in the first place...)
 
First of all, do you need to repair the dent?

The "no claims protection" is a bit of a scam. In theory you keep the No Claims bonus, but in practice they can jack up the base premium by whatever they like. And you can't switch because you have a claim.

€850 sounds like one you should pay yourself if you have to get it done.
Brendan
 
I agree with Brendan. Unless you really can’t afford it I’d avoid the insurance claim. In my view an insurance claim is more of a “loan” than a simple payment as they’ll have it out of you with higher premiums over the coming years.
 
Brendan Burgess said:
First of all, do you need to repair the dent?
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Great question. The OP should ask a mechanic for their opinion before committing to a deal with a bodywork repairer. Many such 'repairs' are highly cosmetic and borderline unnecessary.
Brendan Burgess said:
The "no claims protection" is a bit of a scam. In theory you keep the No Claims bonus, but in practice they can jack up the base premium by whatever they like. And you can't switch because you have a claim.
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I found the opposite after a claim a few years back Brendan. Put it this way, it was a hell of a lot better than having my NCB decimated after a previous claim.
Brendan Burgess said:
€850 sounds like one you should pay yourself if you have to get it done.
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I agree.
 
I always opt for the highest excess offered by the insurance company for both car and house insurance. My view is that the insurance is for major damage. I would either repair any minor damage myself or just get used to it if it is not a safety concern.
 
At that price point it's nearly always going to work out better paying yourself.
Is that quote from a main dealer or a bodyshop? Have you shopped around bodyshops?
How much is the vehicle worth?
What is your excess and current premium?
How many years NCB do you have?

All things to consider before we can advise properly.
 
I had a small break-in a few years ago.

I called up the insurance company and they very openly told me what a claim would do to future premiums. It would have cost me far to claim than getting it fixed myself.

What I've done since is opt for very high excess. Both for house and car insurance is about protecting against catastrophe, not against normal things
 
NoRegretsCoyote said:
I had a small break-in a few years ago.

I called up the insurance company and they very openly told me what a claim would do to future premiums. It would have cost me far to claim than getting it fixed myself.

What I've done since is opt for very high excess. Both for house and car insurance is about protecting against catastrophe, not against normal things
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And a claim say €5000 will prevent you from getting a quote from another insurer. As we found out but the roof needed repairing. Still angry.....
 
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