No Claims Bonus Explained
If you’ve ever insured your car, the likelihood is that you’ve come across the term ‘no claims bonus’ at some point during the process. As you know, there are many factors which can affect the cost of your premium, and a no claims discount is one of the factors that can help you to save a significant amount of money.
The percentage of discount that you can receive varies, depending on the broker that you use for your insurance, but many companies offer large discounts for drivers who have gone a large number of years without reporting a claim. There is no limit to the number of years of no claims that you can accumulate, but most companies will usually use a limit of 5-10 years in order to work out a discount.
Changing your car or policy
If you’ve purchased a new car, the good news is that your no claims discount can be transferred in the majority of cases. However, if you’re changing insurers before your renewal date, you may lose your no-claims bonus so it is often better to wait until the end of your policy term before switching insurers. You will need to ask your former insurer to provide proof of your bonus at the end of your term. If you’ve occurred a no claims discount whilst living abroad, you may not be able to transfer them to your new policy in the UK, but it is worth speaking to your insurer first regarding this issue.
Making a claim
In the event that you need to make a claim on your policy where your insurer is the one who is paying out, the likelihood is that you will lose some if not all of your no claims bonus. However, if you’re not the one at fault, and the other party takes responsibility for the claim, your insurer will be able to reclaim the payout from the other party’s insurance broker which will protect your no claims bonus. If both parties are unable to agree where the fault lies, both insurers may split the pay-out fees, which can affect your no claims bonus.
At RightSure, we believe that you should be rewarded well for occurring your no claims bonus and that is why we provide extremely competitive quotes from drivers in this situation.