Motor Claim or Pay Out Of Pocket?

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taytoman

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I have car insurance with FBD with unlimited no claims bonus with an excess of 150 euro. I have accidentally damaged a panel on my car, and panel beating / respray will cost 450-600 euro.
Q: Whilst I have the full protected no claims bonus, should I pay or claim? In theory they cannot jack up my claim at renewal, but in practice I will be a "captive customer" for the next 3-5 years. Any thoughts?​
 
You've answered you own question.

If you want freedom to move, then pay yourself.
 
Hi taytoman, while the claim may not effect your NCB it may still have an effect on your premium. I'm not 100% on how FBD work, but most companies would still load the policy for the claim. As the NCB is unaffected it would generally be a low increase.

So without anymore babbling from me, my advice would be: if you can afford it, fix it yourself
 
No. Now thats just misleading people. If your bonus is protected, your bonus is protected to the level as per the company. e.g. one fire or theft claim unlimited and one own damage claim up to €10,000. You can do this, and it won't affect your bonus whilst with that company. Thats not to say your premium may not go up - rates may change. So your existing company will not load you the following year!
 
But as OP said he will be a 'captive customer' for a number of years as even though bonus is protected he will be restricted from moving. You could get FBD to pay out on the claim & then shop around next year. If another company are cheaper without a claim you could pay back FBD have the claim wiped and move to the new company. You would need to see if FBD would allow you to do this.

www.powerinsurances.ie
 
peteb said:
No. Now thats just misleading people. If your bonus is protected, your bonus is protected to the level as per the company. e.g. one fire or theft claim unlimited and one own damage claim up to €10,000. You can do this, and it won't affect your bonus whilst with that company. Thats not to say your premium may not go up - rates may change. So your existing company will not load you the following year!
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Peteb, I'm afraid that this is the case and I am speaking as someone who works in the insurance industry (not willing to name the company). The way it is generally seen is that the company has made a loss by covering the claim and must try to make the money back eg. loading the policy, but as the ncb hasn't been effected the amount is generally low and in some cases it just means the pol won't be as low as it should be at renewal. As I did say this isn't done by all companies but it is defiantly done by some.
 
peteb said:
likewise!
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My last post probably sounded very "I'm right and you're wrong" which it wasn't ment to be. In this case I will agree to disagree, as I said I'm not 100% about other all other companies, but is something I know the company I'm with do (this is not to say it is right or moral but it does happen). All I'm saying is that the OP should make sure that if he is to claim this won't happen.

Once again sorry if o seemed over agresive in my last post :eek:
 
I had a claim with Quinn last year. Even with a protected NCB they tripled my premium on renewal. So much for having a protected NCB.
 
Protecting my NCB just never made sense to me so I have always said no to this. Just before christmas I damaged the passenger side trying to get into my ice covered drive.

It cost me €500 to repair so I was wondering if I should pay it the next time, but it seems from this post I was right to leave it.
 
another option would be to make the claim, and then at renewal run a quote without the claim being noted - if you find there is a sizable difference you can contact fbd and pay back the payment.
 
becky said:
Protecting my NCB just never made sense to me so I have always said no to this. Just before christmas I damaged the passenger side trying to get into my ice covered drive.

It cost me €500 to repair so I was wondering if I should pay it the next time, but it seems from this post I was right to leave it.
Click to expand...

I work in a brokers and i would always encourage to fully protect your bonus - takes years to build up and a second to lose it - proof is in the pudding i suppose - ask anyone in the industry have they protected theirs and you will get a close to 100% yes
 
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