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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To wonder why we bother with car insurance when it's almost impossible to claim :(

30 replies

3MonthMaid · 03/06/2013 19:49

I scraped the car today along the back door and wing. It's not bad but its bad enough.

I own the car and insure it. I was planning to sell it in August and mum was going to put me on her insurance instead.

If I claim now, isn't it going to push mums premium up when she puts me on hers?

Claiming seems to be made so hard, if I claim. I not only loose my no-claims and pay the excess, I also have to pay a higher premium next time Sad

OP posts:
KittensoftPuppydog · 03/06/2013 19:52

Yup.

WMittens · 03/06/2013 19:53

You think it's wrong that, if you claim, you lose the discount they give you for not claiming? The clue's in the name, surely.

Original poster
3MonthMaid · 03/06/2013 19:58

I have no problem losing the no-claims bonus. I have a problem with the fact that on top of losing it, I will also have a higher premium next time!

OP posts:
cathpip · 03/06/2013 19:59

Hey I accidentally drove into the back of my dh's car writing it off, my dh could not claim against my insurance company as he was a named driver on my policy, now that's utter shit. We both had to make separate claims of our own insurance companies :(

ilovesooty · 03/06/2013 20:05

Since insurance is about risk, surely it stands to reason your premium will be higher next year?

CajaDeLaMemoria · 03/06/2013 20:08

It's not impossible to claim.

Get a quote for fixing the work. Work out if it'll be cheaper for you to pay to fix it, or for you to claim on your insurance but pay higher premiums and lose the discount.

If we didn't have car insurance, you'd be paying for this out of your own pocket anyway, because you caused the damage.

WMittens · 03/06/2013 20:09

I have no problem losing the no-claims bonus. I have a problem with the fact that on top of losing it, I will also have a higher premium next time!

Hahaha, what the hell do you think no claims bonus is?! It wouldn't be much of a bonus if your premium stayed the same.

Bringmewineandcake · 03/06/2013 20:15

Your premium will be higher because your no claims discount will be lower. By not claiming, you are a lower risk for your insurer and as such they'll reward you with money off. By passing on the risk of you having a serious motor accident (could you afford to replace your car if it was written off?) you accept that the insurer has to get something in return, otherwise what's in it for them?

Branleuse · 03/06/2013 20:17

dont claim then, just make the scratch waterproof

Prawntoast · 03/06/2013 20:17

er, insurance companies calculate your premium based on the risk you pose. If you have an at fault accident you are more risky so your premium will go up. Why should less risky drivers subsidise you? Your no claims bonus is just that. You can get protected no claims by paying a slightly higher premium. Also depending on your insurance and how many years no claims you have you may only lose some of it. I had a claim and lost 2 years.
Please make sure if you are going on your mum's insurance that you are named as the main driver if that is what you will be. Insurance companies have ways of finding out if you are in reality the main driver and have not declared it. In the event of a claim your insurer may refuse to pay out.

IneedAsockamnesty · 03/06/2013 20:23

The clue is in the name no claims discount so you get a discount if you don't claim.

So with no, no claims your premium is just what it would be without any discount.

Original poster
3MonthMaid · 03/06/2013 21:17

I don't have a no-claims bonus. That's not the point. The point is that when my mum goes to put me on her insurance (which she has to as my dad is disabled and she needs help with getting him around), because she will have to tick the "have you claimed in the last 3 years box" she will have to pay more..

My point is that surely if all they do is raise your premium (regardless of no claims or not) then I might as well pay for the damage myself. Therefore back to my original point of why bother with insurance in the first place!

OP posts:
wannabedomesticgoddess · 03/06/2013 21:20

Because if you happen to crash into someone and cause them lifelong injuries/total a very expensive car/kill someone, your insurance will cover the costs involved.

Its not really there for minor damage.

WMittens · 03/06/2013 21:29

The point is that when my mum goes to put me on her insurance... ...because she will have to tick the "have you claimed in the last 3 years box" she will have to pay more.

Well, yes - you're a higher risk as you've got previous form for having accidents (I'm not casting aspersions, I've got twice the form you have).

In fact, the question is now usually worded, "have you had any accident, whether claimed for or not..." so she'll need to declare it anyway - so you might as well claim, as the loss of NCB is moot if you're going on her policy.

You could always offer to pay the additional premium, as you won't be paying for your car, insurance and associated running costs.

wannabedomesticgoddess · 03/06/2013 21:32

Can scraping the car really be called an accident? I wouldnt say it was really.

WMittens · 03/06/2013 21:43

Can scraping the car really be called an accident? I wouldnt say it was really.

If it was done on purpose, then no; if it was unintentional, then yes it was an accident. I'm guessing that most rational drivers wouldn't intentionally cause hundreds (possibly thousands) of pounds worth of damage to their car, so I would call it an accident.

wannabedomesticgoddess · 03/06/2013 21:53

A scrape is not hundreds of pounds. Confused

SizzleSazz · 03/06/2013 21:56

Sock, i'm afraid you are wrong. Your premium will go up as well

I had protected no claims but when my car was stolen the underlying premium went up massively. I still got a 60% discount but the premium went up £400.

WMittens · 03/06/2013 22:08

A scrape is not hundreds of pounds.

It depends on the severity of the scrape, how deep it goes (clearcoat, pigment, primer, to the metal), what type of paint it is, how easy and whether it can be blended with the rest of the panel, the entire panel needs doing or at the very extreme the entire car needs repainting (TVR flip paint is extremely difficult to colour match).

I've got a scrape that needs attention on one of my cars, I'll let you know what ChipsAway and a proper auto bodyshop come out at.

wannabedomesticgoddess · 03/06/2013 22:11

I think the point is that if you have an excess then anything that costs less than the excess to fix shouldnt go through the insurance at all.

If the OPs scrape costs more than £200-£300 then its not really a scrape is it. More like a gouge in the paintwork/dent/side damage.

greenfolder · 03/06/2013 22:18

You have to be insured for third party cover. You are right, if you are youngish and have a car worth less than a couple of thousand its rarely worth having comp insurance. By the time you have paid an excess, lost your ncb its not worth claiming.

I have had a few scrapes over the years. I have never bothered fixing them, they rarey knock more than a hundred if you part ex

Hegsy · 03/06/2013 22:18

Well there is a point to it if you have a serious accident if I hadn't had insurance my accident would have cost me about £8k and I was the only car involved. Yes it outs your premiums up the first year but as you remain safe they reduce again. Oh and it's claims in the last 5 years for a lot of companies

ddubsgirl · 03/06/2013 22:19

Dreading ours Hmm out car was set fire to last week and waiting on insurance to sort it out picked up a cheap runaround for now but payments have doubled even tho it's a smaller car :(

Original poster
3MonthMaid · 03/06/2013 22:21

Yup. Definitely more of a gouge than a scrape. It also crosses the back door and the panel next to it (even though its only about 10cm long) so it's going to be pricey. If I wasn't about to sell it, I wouldn't fix it but I have to really... It's not brand new but its worth about 5k (pre scrape) so it does need to be fixed.

Yes, it's the raise in premium I am Shock about. Not losing the no claims (if I had one) as that goes without saying.

OP posts:
WMittens · 03/06/2013 22:22

Maybe this is just a matter of semantics, but if something scrapes down the entire side of the vehicle, to me it's a scrape; it might be a big scrape or a little scrape, but it's a scrape.

Anyway to avoid heading further off on a tangent, the OP says it's not that bad, so not worth declaring in future something that couldn't be proved.