Should I claim on my Car insurance? How much does Premium increase?

Uncle Rico

My car was recently robbed from outside my house.

The rep from my insurance company rang me to find out if I wanted to make a claim or not. He seemed very negative about me claiming and pretty much advised me not to because he told my my premium would go up between 40% and 60%. He wasn't able to give me an exact figure but said it would be minimum 40%.

The car was only valued at €1,700 and I have nearly 2 years no claims bonus. It was 3rd party insurance. Has anyone been in a similar situation and if so how much did their premium go up by?

Is it worth my while claiming? I kinda of need the money to get a new car.

Seth Brundle

How much is your insurance now and will an additional 40-60% justify claiming 1700 (minus your excess)?

ramanujan

my gut reaction is not to claim, but it probably depends on your personal finances.

Get them to give you a renewal quote maybe? do you plan on insuring any higher powered motors in the next 3 years?

patrickc

my insurance company put my insurance up from 1200 to 1800 after a 2,000k claim, got it for 1,200 elsewhere

just an example

Steve

Uncle Rico wrote: »

The rep from my insurance company rang me to find out if I wanted to make a claim or not. He seemed very negative about me claiming and pretty much advised me not to because he told my my premium would go up between 40% and 60%. He wasn't able to give me an exact figure but said it would be minimum 40%.

The car was only valued at €1,700 and I have nearly 2 years no claims bonus. It was 3rd party insurance. Has anyone been in a similar situation and if so how much did their premium go up by?

Is it worth my while claiming? I kinda of need the money to get a new car.

This sickens me every time I hear it - it's pure bully tactics.

On your quotation, they have to specify the base premium, the discount and the tax.

All you stand to lose is the discount which for 2 years NCD should be roughly 20% (plus the cost of building it back up again).

They *CANNOT* increase the base premium for a claim this small. In large personal injury claims (e.g. 10-15k), they can.

A friend of mine was in a similar situation to you and was told this by the financial ombudsman.

If I were you, I would call the rep again and ask for a letter or an email to confirm what he said to you detailing why your premium will increase by between 40 and 60% and why he is advising you not to proceed with a claim.
Then tell him you are following your call up with a letter to the claims department manager asking the same questions (and, if he's still snotty, you are copying the financial regulator on it).

I think you'll find him singing a different song after that.

Uncle Rico

Thanks for all the replies.

ramanujan - in regards to a renewal quote, i asked them for one but they said they couldn't give me one. all they would say that it would definitly increase between 40% and 60%.

My gut reaction was also not to claim, but after the advise and attitude the rep gave me I am almost inclined to go against what he said.

And thanks for the advice steveC.

Fey!

Do you have any kind of no claims protection on your policy?

As SteveC said, have a look at your last renewal if you still have it and see what they quoted you.

Also, be aware that when you go to renew, one of the excuses you will hear for the base increasing will be "all renewals have increased this year".

Magown3

I would claim and then when it comes to renewal, shop around, I'm sure you'll find something that'll either match your current policy price or come in way below the 40-60% increase.

Sounds like bully tactics to me alright and I'd be inclined to fight fire with fire just in spite of that rep (the bo!!ox)

chris85

OP as already said i would claim and at renewal time shop around and explain to other insurance companies the reason for the claim and they will usually forget quote you and forget about your claim as it was not your fault.

Most insurance companies only care about your threat on the road in terms of accidents and injuries which is what really costs the money.

I really hate insurance companies as the car being robbed is not your fault and yet you are being penalised for it either way. You claim then you stand to have an increased premium, dont claim and you are out of the money the car is valued at.

daveharnett

With other (less pikey) insurance companies, claims under fire and theft don't affect the NCB. Explain your curcumstances at renewal time and they'll give you an NCB even if your current insurer won't.

Esel

Uncle Rico wrote: »

It was 3rd party insurance.

Presume you mean 3PFT?