Expensive quotes - named driving experience and 1 year no claims

alice14

Hi, my insurance is due to be renewed and I’d like to shop around for a better quote. My problem is that I have 5 years named driving experience but only bought my own car last year and therefore only have 1 year no claims. The problem seems to be that because I can only put one or the other into the online forms I’m getting quotes of €1200. Whereas this year I paid €780. I’m 26 years old.

Is there any way to get around this or do I just have to ring around?

Thanks

Atlantic Dawn

I'd ring around and mention the 5 years named driver no claims experience, the online quotes usually can't take this in to account.

Eggs For Dinner

If you have a policy in your own name, you need to rely on that when getting quotes

Eireann81

Are you finding it cheaper to use the 5 years' named driving experience or the 1 year in your own name? I'm in a similar situation, and I find that the named driver experience gives cheaper quotes. Insurance company is insisting that I use the 1 year that I've built up in my name. I don't get this because I'm still building up the named experience on the other policy.

Eggs For Dinner

Eireann81 wrote: »

Are you finding it cheaper to use the 5 years' named driving experience or the 1 year in your own name? I'm in a similar situation, and I find that the named driver experience gives cheaper quotes. Insurance company is insisting that I use the 1 year that I've built up in my name. I don't get this because I'm still building up the named experience on the other policy.

Your own policy is the primary record of your driving history, as it presumes more regular driving than the casual nature of being a named driver. Named driver experience is designed to give someone a bit of a lift when they eventually get their own vehicle.

Eireann81

Eggs For Dinner wrote: »

Your own policy is the primary record of your driving history, as it presumes more regular driving than the casual nature of being a named driver. Named driver experience is designed to give someone a bit of a lift when they eventually get their own vehicle.

Well here's the thing... I've had a policy in my own name for 10+ years with no claims. Last year I bought a second car, but you're not allowed to use your NCB on more than 1 car, so I had to use my 4 years' named driver's experience from my other half's car to get a reasonable quote on my second car.

Technically, I'm building up an NCB on 3 policies... One on my main car, one on my weekend car, and I'm still a named driver on my other half's car.

I don't see why I can't use my 5 year's named NCB to get a quote. If I ask my insurance company for the proof of named NCB, they'd give me a cert to say that I have 5 years and I could shop elsewhere for a quote. Similarly, I should be able to choose which of my main NCB I use on either car.

Basically, I'm being penalised for taking out a policy in my own name for a year. If I didn't take out the policy in my own name, there'd be no issue with me using the named NCB.

Eggs For Dinner

Firstly, named driver experience is not No Claim Bonus
Secondly, if you are a named driver on another policy, an insurer is not obliged to provide you with anything under that policy.
Some insurers will mirror or make an allowance with regards to bonus if you present them with your circumstances
Most importantly, there is nothing obligatory about the No Claim Bonus system in common use. Any insurer is free to allow, mirror, ignore, double or halve whatever you have.

Discuss your circumstances with insurers and see what they will do for you. Take a chance by declaring ancillary named driver experience as NCB and you risk problems ahead

Eireann81

Eggs For Dinner wrote: »

Firstly, named driver experience is not No Claim Bonus
Secondly, if you are a named driver on another policy, an insurer is not obliged to provide you with anything under that policy.
Some insurers will mirror or make an allowance with regards to bonus if you present them with your circumstances
Most importantly, there is nothing obligatory about the No Claim Bonus system in common use. Any insurer is free to allow, mirror, ignore, double or halve whatever you have.

Discuss your circumstances with insurers and see what they will do for you. Take a chance by declaring ancillary named driver experience as NCB and you risk problems ahead

Thanks, I appreciate the advice - it sounds like you know your insurance. I think I'll have to deal with insurance companies directly rather than relying on the online quotes. I can get reasonably cheap quotes by filling out the online forms honestly, but I'd rather be 100% sure and either call into them, or discuss on the phone.

Sorry for hijacking your thread, OP, but we both have the exact same issue here. If you manage to use your named driving experience rather than your 1 year NCB, please update this thread and let us know. I'll be sure to do the same.

Eggs For Dinner

Your circumstances are not suited to online quotes. Talk to the insurers and, preferably, a good broker

IrishGrimReaper

Hi OP,

I know Liberty's online quote system as of April this year considers both named experience and NCB in your own name so perhaps try there?

alice14

Thanks for all the feedback everyone. I think I just need to ring around! Just got my renewal quote with itsforwomen and it's €20 cheaper than last year but I'd like to see if anywhere can go lower than that.

Eireann81

As promised, I said I'd update this thread when I got sorted. I ended up taking out a policy with FBD, who accepted both my NCB and my named driving experience. Hope that helps.