NCB protection

sean1141

basicly is it wort the 60-100 euro extra that most insurance companys charge?
what are the pro's and con's to it? money is tight and i am trying to get the best cover for the smallest money possible:D

any info or opinions welcome

si_guru

It's a gamble my friend.. you win if you don't crash, you lose if you do!

I always buy it... but now I look back after 27 crash free years and wonder how much money I spent on that!

sean1141

but even if you make a claim are you not stuck with the same crowd and they can charge you what they like?

i would normaly get it but being out of work money is tight and insurance is up!

si_guru

You are always free to shop around at any time.

I have more experience in the UK - but I think most companies look at your "5 year" driving history or so, not just if you made a claim in the last year. Especially if you are over 25 or 30.

I pay about €400 for my car, but I know I could get FC cover with no frills for less than €250..

It's a tough call if money is tight anyways.

pippip

sean1141 wrote: »

but even if you make a claim are you not stuck with the same crowd and they can charge you what they like?

i would normaly get it but being out of work money is tight and insurance is up!

They could charge you a slightly higher rate but it ain't going to be as much as you going to another company with zero ncb.

I'd look at it that, if you can't afford the extra 100ish then you won't be able to afford to drive should you have an accident.

Also i discovered when renewing a few years back, see how many claims your company covers in the protection. 4yrs ago, Quinn would only cover two accidents where 123.ie said it didn't matter how many, touch wood I've had none.

garhjw

sean1141 wrote: »

but even if you make a claim are you not stuck with the same crowd and they can charge you what they like?

i would normaly get it but being out of work money is tight and insurance is up!

i was unlucky enough to crash a couple of years ago but had bonus protection so my premium didn't increase. IN fact, it decreased the following year but my broker got a cheaper quote from another provider. but you are correct - some providers don't recognise bonus protections if you've had a claim.

vectra

Don't Scrimp Sean.
I know times are tough but for the sake of 100 I would walk for a month to make that up.
Worth it's weight in gold should anything happen.
Sit at your pc and scour every insurance company you can find.
I got my quote this year and my insurance jumped up quite a lot.
I rang my broker and they were able to knock around 50 euro off. ( still going to be 515 or so)
I rang the AA, Got a quote for 418 odd.
Rang my broker back and told them. They went on saying how the policy I had was so much better etc. but amazingly said the best they could do is 423, I said fin then, go ahead.
I was even more amazed at the fact that I was insured with the same company as I have been with for several years (Zurich)
Makes you wonder :P

sean1141

ya have being doing a few online quotes. one of the crowds that were the most expencive last year are the cheapest/best i got so far this year

Henry Ford III

Have a look art "step back" NCB protection. Kind of a half way house. Cheaper obviously too.

copeyhagen

i didnt have it, car was stolen 11 months into my policy, i effectively lost 3 years ncb because of it. you lose 2 years for any claim worth more than 2k or something. only had 5 so insurance quotes after were steep

TylerIE

Its worth it if you have a small claim too...

Family member destroyed a bumper a few years ago and just had to pay €90 excess, instead of the €600 for a new original bumper in metallic.

Brother had stereo stolen, and a few bits of vandalism done to the car, costing over €500... Excess about €100 and insurance paid the rest, with his premium still decreasing the following year as he had NCB protected.

If you dont have it, it means that any small claim will cost your a lot more in future years, having it (if you have comprehensive cover) means you need not be afraid if your car gets minor damage.

January

si_guru wrote: »

You are always free to shop around at any time.

I have more experience in the UK - but I think most companies look at your "5 year" driving history or so, not just if you made a claim in the last year. Especially if you are over 25 or 30.

I pay about €400 for my car, but I know I could get FC cover with no frills for less than €250..

It's a tough call if money is tight anyways.

As long as you don't have an open claim on your policy (open meaning that it hasn't yet been paid out on and they're still investigating it).

MugMugs

You're insuring your insurance.

If you can afford it and you're elegible for it then get it.

You usually have to have 5 years before you can get it.

sean1141

Thanks folks. I have no claims. I did get a few new screens over the years but there was never a mention of excess or ncb. Just as long as I had windscreen cover on my policy they were happy 2do it.
Tbh I don't think I would claim for something like a bumper etc if it was under a grand.

I will be going for fully comp and most of these come with step back protection anyway

sean1141

Thanks folks. I have no claims. I did get a few new screens over the years but there was never a mention of excess or ncb. Just as long as I had windscreen cover on my policy they were happy 2do it.
Tbh I don't think I would claim for something like a bumper etc if it was under a grand.

I will be going for fully comp and most of these come with step back protection anyway

vectra

copeyhagen wrote: »

i didnt have it, car was stolen 11 months into my policy, i effectively lost 3 years ncb because of it. you lose 2 years for any claim worth more than 2k or something. only had 5 so insurance quotes after were steep

I had 2 cars stolen and for the simple fact I had an Alarm/Immobilizer fitted to both i lost nothing in my ncb.
I didn't have Bonus protection on any of them

gpjordanf1

sean1141 wrote: »

basicly is it wort the 60-100 euro extra that most insurance companys charge?
what are the pro's and con's to it? money is tight and i am trying to get the best cover for the smallest money possible:D

any info or opinions welcome

From personal experience its a waste of money.

I had it on a policy, had a crash and thought sure just claim for the repairs, no others involved.
Claimed all went well and cant fault the insurance co at all. They paid up promptly.

So when it comes to renewal, my renewal didn't go up. So rang around looking for a qoute but nobody would touch me because of claim.

So being young and foolish and not reading the small print, I have no one to blame but myself. So I couldn;t move insurance companies for 5 years for the sake of a small claim. The extra cost of the insurance over the five years could have paid for the damage 3 times over!

havent had it since, 12 years now, so have saved a significant amount in that time! Long may it continue!

pippip

gpjordanf1 wrote: »

From personal experience its a waste of money.

I had it on a policy, had a crash and thought sure just claim for the repairs, no others involved.
Claimed all went well and cant fault the insurance co at all. They paid up promptly.

So when it comes to renewal, my renewal didn't go up. So rang around looking for a qoute but nobody would touch me because of claim.

So being young and foolish and not reading the small print, I have no one to blame but myself. So I couldn;t move insurance companies for 5 years for the sake of a small claim. The extra cost of the insurance over the five years could have paid for the damage 3 times over!

havent had it since, 12 years now, so have saved a significant amount in that time! Long may it continue!

Yes for a small claim its not worth it. It's not there for claims you could possibly pay for yourself, its for accidents where you have no choice but to use your insurance to sort it.

If you take it at €100 a year extra (mines €50 btw for full protection) so thats equates to a €500 repair in 5yrs.

Thats well worth it in my opinion once you have 2yrs + ncb.

TylerIE

gpjordanf1 wrote: »

From personal experience its a waste of money.

I had it on a policy, had a crash and thought sure just claim for the repairs, no others involved.
Claimed all went well and cant fault the insurance co at all. They paid up promptly.

So when it comes to renewal, my renewal didn't go up. So rang around looking for a qoute but nobody would touch me because of claim.

So being young and foolish and not reading the small print, I have no one to blame but myself. So I couldn;t move insurance companies for 5 years for the sake of a small claim. The extra cost of the insurance over the five years could have paid for the damage 3 times over!

havent had it since, 12 years now, so have saved a significant amount in that time! Long may it continue!

The above may not consider how the renewal with the original insurer would have went WAY up if the poster hadnt protected their no claims, ie nobody would have touched them, and their current insurer would have increased the premium dramatically.

MugMugs

vectra wrote: »

I had 2 cars stolen and for the simple fact I had an Alarm/Immobilizer fitted to both i lost nothing in my ncb.
I didn't have Bonus protection on any of them

Some insurers don't see theft as meriting NCB impact.

pippip

^ Yeh something about that post didn't make sense to me.

vectra

MugMugs wrote: »

Some insurers don't see theft as meriting NCB impact.

I would have stepped back to 2yr ncb if I did not have an alarm/immobiliser fitted.

pippip

vectra wrote: »

I would have stepped back to 2yr ncb if I did not have an alarm/immobiliser fitted.

Which company? Fair play to them, wonder are they still as kind.

CiniO

si_guru wrote: »

It's a gamble my friend.. you win if you don't crash, you lose if you do!

I always buy it... but now I look back after 27 crash free years and wonder how much money I spent on that!

That just means you are not great at gambling

sean1141

ya i have seen a few saying fire and theft dont affect no claims on a full comp policy...


on a side note anyone know some good brokers or online crowds that do good deals...

seanybiker

I had it a few years back. Bike got robbed. Claimed for the bike and I kept my full ncb. Was surprised really, I thought it was a load of codswollop but obviously not.

Otis Driftwood

As someone that is working in a brokers and has worked for another large insurer Id recommend going for the full bonus protection if you can get it.

Most insurance companies will offer step back cover as a standard and the general rule of thumb for it (the step back) is that you can have any one fire or theft claim that will not effect your NCB but if you have a third party or accidental damage claim you will lose 2 years.

There are a couple of exceptions.

FBD.
Step back cover does not come as standard and you must pay an additional premium however when you have step back cover with them you can have unlimited fire or theft claims and your bonus will not be effected.The down side is that if you have any third party or accidental damage claim you will lose 2 years off your bonus as they dont offer a full bonus cover option for new customers.

Allianz.
Their step back cover is standard and it allows unlimited fire or theft claims (within reason) that will not effect the bonus but a third party or accidental damage claim up to 10k in value reduces the bonus by 3 years.A third party or accidental damage claim for more than 10k means losing 4 years off your bonus.

Its worth having for the extra 40 or 50 quid it costs for the simple reason that if someone hits your car while parked in a car park and does a runner,or it gets vandalised then at least you arent going to be penalised for something that is totally not your fault.

sean1141

cheers otis. do you deal with most of the insurance companys?? if i was to pm you my details would you be able to get me a quote?