Car insurance question......

[Eddas]

I have just received my renewal notice and want to get other quotes, however, I have 2 questions

1. I had a non fault accident in Dec 07 and my current insurance company are still in the process of getting the money and so have reduced my no claims to 3 years. Apparently 5 years is the max and they take off 2 whilst a claim is being dealt with then i'll get a refund once it's settled. Is this right? If so when I apply to other insurers do I say I have 3 years no claims or in fact that it's 8 as i've so far not had an accident that's my fault >
   
   
2. Is there a way I can find out dates of 'claims' I know a few years ago I contacted my insurer when I was hit from behind. The other driver just paid for the scratches to be made good, but since I called I have to mention it but I have no clue when it was. I really ought to write it down!! Last year I couldn't be bothered to search for new ins as i'd just had ds so I haven't needed to worry for a while. I have asked my current insurer but the man i spoke to was a bit abbrupt and just said 'they only held details for the last 3 years.' When i asked if that was the same for all ins companies, i got an abrupt 'i don't know but it's the case for us!'
   
   It's such a PITA, but I did a quick search on money supermarket and looks like I could save £100+, but I got a quote once before and inoccently forgot about the non-claim mentioned above and they upped the quote so i'm keen to make sure my details are right before I get proper quotes.
   
   TIA

[claricebeansmum]

Hmmm

1. I think this is mad. Once the insurance company had established the fault was not yours then your insurance should have carried on as set out. This is the whole point of insurance companies - they deal with the legal bit but you should not suffer.

1. Why do you need to know beyond three years? That is usually all that insurers ask for.

moneysupermarket.com are lovely. My last car insurance went down by about £100 as well

[wannaBe]

Re the non fault accident, you will need to tell them that you've had a claim and that your no claims discount has been reduced to 3 years. When you switch to a new insurer you will have to provide proof of no claims discount and as the claim is still outstanding your current insurer will only be able to provide proof of three years. Once the claim has been settled as non fault you can contact your previous insurer who will reinstate your NCD and provide a new statement which you can send to your new insurer and they will adjust and refund accordingly. Once you have your 5 years ncd I would advise you to protect your ncd at next renewal (you can only do this once you have maximum no claims discount which is 5 years.).

Re your previous claims, most insurers will ask for claims history within the past three years. If they are asking for anything beyond that it is most likely for records purposes. You should provide the approximate dates and the circumstances, if they require anything further you will need to contact your insurer at the time, but as they were non fault it should be ok.

hth.

[wannaBe]

cbm the reason the no claims is reduced until the claim has been settled is because the insurer pays out for the repairs to the vehicle and then it is claimed from the other party's insurer. In the event the other driver was not insured or the other insurer did not pay out for some reason (ie there was dispute over fault) the claim would go down as a fault claim and the no claims reduction would stand.

I worked for an insurance company for three years btw.

[Eddas]

ok, thanks so i only need to declare 3 years of 'claims', excellant!

The Dec 07 accident was admitted as their fault by the other person the next day and she told her insurance company. I assume they are still claiming the cash for writing off my car, but I received thatmoney in January so that's taken a long time to reclaim!!!!!!!!!!!

I will protect my no claims once I can. TBH it's unfair that I can't do it now since liability was admitted 8 months ago. Madness

Thanks for the replies