"No claims" two cars

[fredpuli47]

An insurance company has just told me that if I have a 4 year no claims discount on one car and I then get a second car, so I then have two,an insurance company will not allow me a no claims discount on the premium of the second car. Is that right? Is it standard practice? What's the logic?

What is odder, is when I explained that I wasn't getting a second car . I already had the two for years, both in identical circumstances as to address, driver etc. The two cars were insured with different insurers. Both insurers gave me the 4 year no claims. All I wanted to do was change insurers on one, on renewal, with this insurer I was talking to. After some enquiries the new insurer agreed to give me the same discount !So I now have no claims on both, as before. How come?

[Louise07]

You can only use one lot of NCD on one vehicle at a time.

So, for example, if you have had a car for 4 years and have 4 years no claims discount on it, and then you purchase an additional vehicle, you will not be able to use your 4 years NCD on the additional vehicle because you are already using it on your original vehicle. You will have to start the insurance on the additional vehicle with nil NCD.

At renewal, provided you have not made any claims, you will have 5 years NCD on your original vehicle and 1 year on the additional vehicle. So now you have 2 lots of NCD.

You can use 5 years NCD on one vehicle and 1 year NCD on the other vehicle, but you cannot use one lot of NCD on more than one vehicle at a time.

Hope this makes sense.

[Hymie]

This is just another example of the insurance industry taking us for a ride.

You cannot be driving both vehicles at the same time, so why won�t they let you have the no claims bonus on both policies? After all, it is about insurance risk - which car are you more likely to have an accident in?

I first came across situation this when changing cars many years ago � I had brought my new car and was in process of selling my old car. My insurance company gave me 14 days grace/change over period during which time I was covered for both cars. I thought to myself that if I don�t sell my car quickly, I could drive both cars until sold, with perhaps a small premium on my insurance for having two cars. But no � I would have no no-claims on whichever was the second car and have to pay a hefty premium.

A colleague at work recently fell foul of this situation, but was able to find an insurance company that would give him full no-claims on both cars.
The motto is � shop around.

[fredpuli47]

Louise, thanks for the explanation. I understand what you say.

. But what the insurers do doesn't make sense in insurance terms, on the face of it. The discount is given because the insured is a provenly good risk over years. What other reason can there be?That's why I can shop around to renew on any car and get the same discount from any insurer.It's not a loyalty bonus for sticking with one ( if it were, it would make sense). I can't drive more than the one car at a time . I'm the same driver with the same risk of accident or claim, whatever car of mine I drive. Yet the way they work it, I get treated as a high risk newcomer one one car if I buy it now, but a good risk on the other which I've had for years, but treated as a good risk veteran on both if I've had both for years. What's more, the same applies if the new car is my third or fourth extra car.

[factor-fiction]

Fredpuli, were you insuring both vehicles in your name only or was there a named driver or was it 'any driver'. If it was you only then I understand why you feel you should get the same NCD. If there was another driver maybe the insurer feels you might be trying to insure it for them in your name.

[fredpuli47]

No Factor30, I'd see the point if it were one car with 'any driver' or if my young daughter been had been put on one insurance recently as a named driver. In fact ,both insurances were 'myself as named driver only' driving . In some cases it would certainly add to the risk, and be an understandable factor,if a new or renewed insurance had a higher risk driver on it . I'd see the commercial reasoning there .

Insurance companies have long been a law unto themselves and had practices which would not be accepted in other commercial areas, some practices being enshrined in common law.This one, though, did strike me as eccentric , even with that in mind:)

[JB]

I completely understand why you think that the NCD should apply to both cars, but you need to take into account the theft risk too. It's true that you can only drive one car at a time, but with a good driving record, the biggest and most expensive risk is theft - and that is multiplied by the number of vehicles you have!

[tufty7]

I too have two cars and am insured with direct line running full NCD on both , they are aware and take this into consideration, They have to be carefull on the whole as ther are loads of parents out there who insure there kids as named drivers but use it full time....
there is a new one on the market in the past year which is called pay as you drive by Norwich Union, if you can do the initial outlay and don't use your car much , you might be in pocket as you pay by the mile ...