Car Insurance - No-Claim Protection

[Pique]

I tend to shop around every year for the cheapest quote. I have 7 years no claims entitlement, is it really worth me paying up to �80 extra to protect the no claims discount?

[Oneeyedvic]

A bit of a question like should I buy 3rd party or fully comp insurance. By protecting your no claims it means that if you do have an own fault crash you will still have a no claims discount. If you do not have an accident then I suppose it is not worth it - if you do have an accident then it was worth every penny. 7 years no claims would probably equate to around a 60% discount. If you are paying �200 a year, it is probably not worth protecting - (without discount it may be �300)- if you are paying more than that.....well you get the point

[Pique]

The reason I ask is that someone told me that if you change insurers, as I generally do each year, they do not recognise the protection and class you as having made a claim.

[Oneeyedvic]

Aaah, I see - I beleive that the insurers will all continue to protect your discount. At the worst case though, you could always stick to your current insurers if everyone else is expensive. I know what you mean though - insurance does tend to be a rip off. I have 3yrs no claims on bike - when I first insured they would take into account my cars no claims bonus - however if I were to make a claim on my cars insurance, my bike insurance would go up to....mad! Maybe it is worth filling in an on line form once saying that you have 7 years no claims, and second time saying you have 7 years no claims but an accident in last year? Might get around to it later on tesco.com if you get a chance try it and we will compare results

[Oneeyedvic]

Okay - with elephant.co.uk - Tried some details on my car - if I had 7 years ncb quote was �411.60. If I had same but accident last year (which would have lost my ncb if it wasn't protected - cost of �2500) price was �519.75. If I had 0 years ncb (with no accidents in last 3 years)- price was �683.55. If I had 0 years ncb and accident last year - �697.20. Hope this helps. (really should do some work today)

[JB]

Not all insurance companies will transfer NCB protection if a claim has been made. The ones that won't transfer will simply use their own NCB scale (which normally sets you back 2 years) So, your current company may allow you 60/65% discount off the basic premium, plus your protection premium, and another insurer may only allow 45/50% discount without the option to protect. Hope this makes sense!