My Car Insurance Life |

Insurance company More Than says that one in four motorists would rather pay a repair bill of £300 than lose their no-claims bonuses by claiming on their car insurance.

90% of a insured drivers have no-claims bonuses, also known as no-claims discounts. Basically, as long as drivers do not claim, they receive automatic reductions on the next year’s premiums. The discount becomes bigger with the number of years without claims.

If a driver does claim, no matter for how much damage, the no-claims bonus will be reduced for the net two years. And as a general rule, drivers can see their prmium increase by as much as 50 per cent.

Drivers are advised to protect their no claims bonuses by paying a slightly higher premium. Paying this insurance will keep the premium from rising in the event of a claim.

Most insurers offer protected no-claims bonuses to drivers with careful driving records of at least four claim-free years. Choosing the maximum protected no-claims bonus will add anything from eight per cent to 20 per cent to the cost of cover.

But the definition of a protected no-claims bonus can vary widely between insurers. Though accidents caused by another driver will normally have no impact on such a bonus, those caused by the insured could.

Everyone should always make sure to understand how the insurer deals with no claims bonuses. There are no fixed rules and regulations and therefore it is left to the insurer how to deal with it. This is best done prior to buying a policy.

It is always advisable to your own record of years of no claims bonuses and a record of all claims in the past. Insurers have a habit to ask this information from the insured although they should have everything on record. If you change insurance company, this info wil most certainly have to be shared with the potential insurer.