Do insurance companies give the option of paying cash on small claims?

Run_to_da_hills

Are insurance companies obliged to let their customers know if claims are slight and give them the option of paying cash to avoid losing their no claims bonus.

Eoin

Interesting question. I would imagine that it's completely up to them to handle the claim as they see fit. I know friends who have had claims against them settled without even knowing about it.

If this isn't a hypothetical question, then I'd say the best things to do are
1) Get a policy with protected NCB (i.e. you can claim twice up to a total of a few grand)
2) After an incident, get the quote before submitting the claim so you can decide, not the insurance company.

nads

yeah, i did this with quinn, they were quite happy for me to pay them for what they paid out - and i kept my NCB of course then...

Jumpy

nads wrote: »

yeah, i did this with quinn, they were quite happy for me to pay them for what they paid out - and i kept my NCB of course then...

But then they load you for a claim. Yes its still 50% NCB, but on a higher amount.

AXA tried to do this to me when I had to claim when an uninsured driver hit me. It was withdrawn after a hell of a fight.

irisheddie85

My brother did this after an accident as the other party were starting to sound like they were going to have 'neck pain'
Safer than just handing over cash without going through the insurance as it is officially setteled.
His insurance came down at his next renewal as if nothing had happened

oldyouth

Jumpy wrote: »

But then they load you for a claim. Yes its still 50% NCB, but on a higher amount.

AXA tried to do this to me when I had to claim when an uninsured driver hit me. It was withdrawn after a hell of a fight.

Insurance companies will allow you reimburse them for their costs and reinstate your NCB. They will want to include all their costs such as assessors fees etc. They cannot load you in these circumstances. As for an uninsured driver causing an accident, you have to remember that it is a No Claim Bonus, not a No Blame Bonus. If there is a payout on your policy, you will lose it (unless you have it protected)

Eoin

irisheddie85 wrote: »

My brother did this after an accident as the other party were starting to sound like they were going to have 'neck pain'
Safer than just handing over cash without going through the insurance as it is officially setteled.
His insurance came down at his next renewal as if nothing had happened

The damage to the car might be settled. If I was settling privately, I'd want a waiver signed by the other party and I'd get it written by a solicitor.

irisheddie85

eoin wrote: »

The damage to the car might be settled. If I was settling privately, I'd want a waiver signed by the other party and I'd get it written by a solicitor.

ya thats what i meant the insurance company had a standard waiver they just printed off for him to sign so he couldnt come back to claim more later

Eoin

irisheddie85 wrote: »

ya thats what i meant the insurance company had a standard waiver they just printed off for him to sign so he couldnt come back to claim more later

Sorry, I misread your post - I thought it was settled privately. No idea why, as your post was pretty clear

Jumpy

oldyouth wrote: »

Insurance companies will allow you reimburse them for their costs and reinstate your NCB. They will want to include all their costs such as assessors fees etc. They cannot load you in these circumstances. As for an uninsured driver causing an accident, you have to remember that it is a No Claim Bonus, not a No Blame Bonus. If there is a payout on your policy, you will lose it (unless you have it protected)

Sorry, I didnt make it very clear in my post. They kept my NCB but tried to load me for having a claim. Sort of defeats the purpose of an NCB. So I still had the NCB discount, but on the higher loaded amount. This was the NCB protection. They dont claim they wont load you, they just say that you wont lose your NCB.

oldyouth

Jumpy wrote: »

Sorry, I didnt make it very clear in my post. They kept my NCB but tried to load me for having a claim. Sort of defeats the purpose of an NCB. So I still had the NCB discount, but on the higher loaded amount. This was the NCB protection. They dont claim they wont load you, they just say that you wont lose your NCB.

Hi Jumpy, the can't do that, it is against the code of conduct within the Insurance Federation. That's not to say they don't try it. Ask to speak to the person within the insurance company who has been appointed to 'sign off' a dispute to allow you contact the Insurance Ombudsman. That might focus their attention.
Basically, you have to give the insurer a chance to rectify a dispute. If agreement cannot be reached, the appointed person in the insurance company 'signs off' that the negotiations are at a stalemate and the case goes to the Ombudsman

Jumpy

oldyouth wrote: »

Hi Jumpy, the can't do that, it is against the code of conduct within the Insurance Federation. That's not to say they don't try it. Ask to speak to the person within the insurance company who has been appointed to 'sign off' a dispute to allow you contact the Insurance Ombudsman. That might focus their attention.
Basically, you have to give the insurer a chance to rectify a dispute. If agreement cannot be reached, the appointed person in the insurance company 'signs off' that the negotiations are at a stalemate and the case goes to the Ombudsman

This was years ago now, I fought it and had everything re-instated. Then I moved insurance providers.