Protected NCB transferable?

Our man in Havana

Is a protected NCB transferable to a different company? Also how long after a claim will other insurers quote?

Gumbo

NCB are transferrable to any company, aslong as your have a certain amount of years that you have made no claims, ie 3 years without a claim is a 3 year NCB and so on.

Protective NCB is an offer that is offered by the individual insurance company. so you could have a 5 year protected NCB with Quinn and if you renew with Hibernian, you could have a 5 year NCB that is not protected.

insurance companies charge you for the protection, so i think they all offer it.

in regards to a claim, its usually 3 years, hence why the companies ask if you've had a claim or have a claim pending within the last 3 years.

Our man in Havana

So having an accident 2.5 years ago is a bar to moving?

Are there any companies that would quote as I am fed up with RSA and their brokers.

Gumbo

Bond-007 wrote: »

So having an accident 2.5 years ago is a bar to moving?

Are there any companies that would quote as I am fed up with RSA and their brokers.

they should all quote depending on their own characteristics. ie Quinn may not accept anybody with claims within the last 3 years where Hibernian may accept claims that are over 2 years old etc etc etc

only thing you can do is ring them all and find out im afraid!
also, may be worth checking that you can get out of your own insurance providers, as i heard before (may not be true) that if you have a claim that you have to stay with them for 3 years after settlement.

Our man in Havana

They have certainly never said anything to me about that. I was not aware they had even settled the claim as they never said a word to me.

The broker that I am with is terrible. Which is the main reason for wanting to go elsewhere.

Gumbo

Bond-007 wrote: »

They have certainly never said anything to me about that. I was not aware they had even settled the claim as they never said a word to me.

The broker that I am with is terrible. Which is the main reason for wanting to go elsewhere.

if they never settled a claim, then how do you have a claim against you?

im starting to get the picture now of your situation. in your case you will lose your protected NCB if you move company as when you move to the other company you will have to tell them you had a claim against your policy 2.5 years ago.

leeroybrown

In short, no, the protected NCB won't be transferable. All the protected NCB gets you is the opportunity to continue being insured with your pre-accident NCB and without any loading at your current insurer. To any other insurer you've only got a two year NCB and you have had an accident in the last five years.

Our man in Havana

The broker said they paid out. Damage only incident.

So I guess I am stuff if RSA for another year. :eek:

It proves the point that protected NCBs are a con.

leeroybrown

Bond-007 wrote: »

It proves the point that protected NCBs are a con.

Yes and no. I had to make a claim last year. If I hadn't paid for a protected NCB I essentially wouldn't be able to afford to insure my current car and would probably even have trouble getting a quote. For an extra €70 last year (on an expensive policy) that's not all that bad a deal.

Our man in Havana

The con is that you cannot move for years to a new insurer. And your existing insurer knowing this can rise your premium as much as they like knowing they have you by the balls.

leeroybrown

Bond-007 wrote: »

The con is that you cannot move for years to a new insurer. And your existing insurer knowing this can rise your premium as much as they like knowing they have you by the balls.

In fairness to my insurer I don't think that any specific loading was applied because of the claim. While the renewal quote I received after the accident was slightly higher than the previous quote it was in line with the increases that pretty everyone else I know was paying. I knew what I was paying for and I'm glad that I did it.

Gumbo

Bond-007 wrote: »

The con is that you cannot move for years to a new insurer. And your existing insurer knowing this can rise your premium as much as they like knowing they have you by the balls.

not true, because lets say you have 5 years NCB.
then you have a smack.
your insurance pays out.
your protected NCB is now set back to 2 or 3 years NCB.

if you had no protected NCB, then your back to 0 NCB and your starting all over again.

Our man in Havana

your protected NCB is now set back to 2 or 3 years NCB.

Which is no use if you call someone else for a quote.

Gumbo

Bond-007 wrote: »

Which is no use if you call someone else for a quote.

yes it is, because after the 3 year limit, your now ringing other companies with a 5 year bonus instead of a 3 year bonus that you would have if you didnt have a protected NCB.

Our man in Havana

I will believe that when I see it. I know of cases where other companies do not honour protected NCBs where there has been a claim in the previous five years, they only considered the years of claim free driving. So your 5 year bonus is really a 3 year bonus as far as they are concerned.

oldyouth

Bond-007 wrote: »

I will believe that when I see it. I know of cases where other companies do not honour protected NCBs where there has been a claim in the previous five years, they only considered the years of claim free driving. So your 5 year bonus is really a 3 year bonus as far as they are concerned.

That's the way it works. If you give Company A more money to protect your no claim bonus and have a claim, why should Company B allow you a discount off the premium they would charge one of their existing customers who had a similar incident.
You pay extra to protect your bonus being removed from the same insurer's rates

leeroybrown

Another point worth remembering here too is that a protected NCB will likely cover you for theft too. If my claim was for theft rather than an accident I'd have a protected NCB (with no loading) at my current insurer and a full transferrable NCB back after three years. If you're driving something with a much higher theft risk than normal it's well worth remembering.

pred racer

think about it, they are protecting your ncb withthem if you move they cannot honestly say you have not had a claim.

on a better note, if it was a small claim, there are companies which will waive it.
st pauls travellers is one, they dont count anything under 5k a claim. I was in the same situation as you a couple of yrs ago and my broker got me a policy with that crowd.

unkel

Bond-007 wrote: »

It proves the point that protected NCBs are a con.

On the contrary! You've saved yourself a lot of money by actually making a claim (as in the premium you paid for the NCB protection was probably a lot lower than the extra insurance you would have had to fork out without it after your claim)

I used to have full NCB protection. This meant that I could have one unlimited claim, and my full 5 year NCB would still be protected. The cost of this was 15% on top of the normal premium. Not that I ever needed to claim, so mine was a waste of money with hindsight

Unfortunate point remains for you though that if you switch insurance company, you will have to answer the dreaded "have you made any claims in the last x years" question...

Our man in Havana

Just rang the insurance company. Apparentley they paid out a big fat ZERO euro to the other guy and closed the claim. I guess I am in the clear now?