How to lose your NCB (a cautionary tale).

[groyne]

I joined AIB 2 years ago, "no need for proof of NCB, we don't use it", they said. This year I'm doing a new van and AIB came nowhere near other insurers on price, so I changed. New insurer wants proof of NCB, so I rang AIB, we can give you 2 years proof, "but what about the rest", I asked, "I haven't had a claim for over 15 years" I said. "Ring your previous insurer, we can't help you". Now this is where it gets annoying, though the guy did try to help. I rang Insurance Choice, only to find out that they have merged/been taken over by Insurance Factory and they have no details of me on their system.
Even though insurers can check that my previous van was insured and no claims have been made, because I haven't got a piece of paper stating full NCB, I'm :shag: my new insurers want another £200 plus.:mad2:

So when you change insurers, get proof of NCB, even if you don't need it.:drive:

 

[harrow]

I joined AIB 2 years ago, "no need for proof of NCB, we don't use it", they said. This year I'm doing a new van and AIB came nowhere near other insurers on price, so I changed. New insurer wants proof of NCB, so I rang AIB, we can give you 2 years proof, "but what about the rest", I asked, "I haven't had a claim for over 15 years" I said. "Ring your previous insurer, we can't help you". Now this is where it gets annoying, though the guy did try to help. I rang Insurance Choice, only to find out that they have merged/been taken over by Insurance Factory and they have no details of me on their system.
Even though insurers can check that my previous van was insured and no claims have been made, because I haven't got a piece of paper stating full NCB, I'm :shag: my new insurers want another £200 plus.:mad2:

So when you change insurers, get proof of NCB, even if you don't need it.:drive:

Yes best to get a copy of your proof on ncb every time you change insurer

:wave::wave::wave:

 

[jacquigem]

I think Insurance Factory are a broker who will have placed your business with an actual insurance company . If you can remember which actual insurance company you were insured with then they should be able to help . Do you have any old certificates or documents filed away anywhere or maybe on email?

 

[groyne]

Do you have any old certificates or documents filed away anywhere or maybe on email?

We had a good clearout of the filing cabinet in April.

 

[harrow]

We had a good clearout of the filing cabinet in April.

That's the problem you can't keep every thing,

It might be worth scanning documents.

:wave::wave::wave::wave:

 

[Private]

It won't help if you prove it

I had same issue this year; but I keep most documents.
Left AIB as an insurer was offering to beat renewal by at least £25.
AIB same response as you.
Sent new insurer over 20 years NCB proof but hey still wouldn't move from the 2 years AIB provided.
It didn't matter this year as they still had to give me a premium £25 cheaper than renewal quote.
I'll take fight up next year but I know it will be a case of getting lucky if one will honour full NCB. Only need to do it once though to get back to where I should be.

There is another issue on NCB that people may not be aware of:
If an insurer only uses a low number of years for maximum NCB on their system (often 9, sometimes 6) for then if you have an accident they will reduce 3 years (for example) from the 9 they use; not the X amount you have really accumulated. It's an industry scam but not the worst in the insurance industry.

 

[phillybarbour]

AIB seem to have a strange/different approach to No Claims than other companies and it does put me off them.

 

[Hondaboy]

When I renewed my insurance I said I had 15 years NCD, Aviva got back to me and said the old insurance only showed 9 years. I pointed out that is all Swinton go up to and Aviva was happy with that.

 

[Deleted member 9849]

Yes it's a well documented issue on here.Some brokers do use the NCD system,others such as AIB,Comfort and MHF insurance do not.The problem usually arises when changing over from one that does use NCD to one that doesn't and then the previous insurance company providing proof of NCD.

The underwriters do have access to an insurance database which they will use in the event of a claim but not for proof of NCD.When I recently changed from one that doesn't(AIB)to one that does(Caravanguard)I had a similar problem.

Caravanguard initially refused to accept any evidence of NCD without documentation which I didn't have even though I have 11 years of NCD with a motorhome.When I spoke to Caravanguard's supervisor he was very helpful and agreed to ring my previous insurance companies to confirm my no claims record.One of them(Saga)refused to provide the information quoting the data protection act but all I had to do was ring their customer service dept.and give them permission to share my information.

It was sorted out satisfactorily mainly due to a helpful supervisor at Caravanguard and I got the maximum 9 years NCD with them which is a significant reduction in the premium.

My advice before taking out any policy is to ask the insurance broker if they will provide details of any qualifying NCD at the end of the year and also any previous entitlement that you took to them.

In my opinion they make it difficult to change companies in the hope that the customer will not want the hassle and simply stay with them.

 

[2cv]

I had this problem when leaving AIB for Caravan Club (Devitts). Despite getting proof from AIB of my time with them and contacting previous insurers who all provided proof Devitts refused to accept that I had any no claims record. Worse, they cancelled my cover by post. It was fortunate that I arrived home to receive the mail before the cancellation took effect, or I could easily have been driving uninsured. In the end I paid extra premium to pay as if I had no bonus, meaning a higher premium than if I had simply renewed with AIB. I feel that Devitts behaved very badly in notifying cancellation of policy by post, especially for a motorhome where the owner may well be away for weeks at a time. Needless to say I have not renewed with them, hopefully I now have full no claims bonus elsewhere "mirrored" from a car policy.

 

[Private]

Tread carefully

I had this problem when leaving AIB for Caravan Club (Devitts). Despite getting proof from AIB of my time with them and contacting previous insurers who all provided proof Devitts refused to accept that I had any no claims record. Worse, they cancelled my cover by post. It was fortunate that I arrived home to receive the mail before the cancellation took effect, or I could easily have been driving uninsured. In the end I paid extra premium to pay as if I had no bonus, meaning a higher premium than if I had simply renewed with AIB. I feel that Devitts behaved very badly in notifying cancellation of policy by post, especially for a motorhome where the owner may well be away for weeks at a time. Needless to say I have not renewed with them, hopefully I now have full no claims bonus elsewhere "mirrored" from a car policy.

You say you had your insurance cancelled; if that is the case you now need to answer "yes" whenever an insurer ask the question "have you ever had any insurance cancelled?". If you answer no and your previous insurance was actually cancelled the new insurance company will have a 'get out clause' if they have to pay out on the policy.

My view is that your insurance was not set up fully rather than cancelled and I recommend contacting Devitts for a letter to clarify that is the actual situation.

I've never had to answer "yes" when asked if I've ever had insurance cancelled so I don't know the effect it has on premiums but I know answering questions incorrectly can have serious consequences.

 

[Polar Bear]

I had this problem when leaving AIB for Caravan Club (Devitts). Despite getting proof from AIB of my time with them and contacting previous insurers who all provided proof Devitts refused to accept that I had any no claims record. Worse, they cancelled my cover by post. It was fortunate that I arrived home to receive the mail before the cancellation took effect, or I could easily have been driving uninsured. In the end I paid extra premium to pay as if I had no bonus, meaning a higher premium than if I had simply renewed with AIB. I feel that Devitts behaved very badly in notifying cancellation of policy by post, especially for a motorhome where the owner may well be away for weeks at a time. Needless to say I have not renewed with them, hopefully I now have full no claims bonus elsewhere "mirrored" from a car policy.

When you next fill in an insurance application form what will you say when they ask " have you ever had insurance refused?"
Can you ask them for, have you got, a written reason for refusal?

I believe that one should keep insurance documents for at least 7 years in case someone wants to have a go at you in the future.

 

[2cv]

You say you had your insurance cancelled; if that is the case you now need to answer "yes" whenever an insurer ask the question "have you ever had any insurance cancelled?". If you answer no and your previous insurance was actually cancelled the new insurance company will have a 'get out clause' if they have to pay out on the policy.

My view is that your insurance was not set up fully rather than cancelled and I recommend contacting Devitts for a letter to clarify that is the actual situation.

I've never had to answer "yes" when asked if I've ever had insurance cancelled so I don't know the effect it has on premiums but I know answering questions incorrectly can have serious consequences.

I perhaps did not word my original post well. The insurance was never actually cancelled, but a date was given on which it would be cancelled if proof of ncb was not provided. Fortunately I returned home before that date arrived and having had the evidence from other insurers refused paid the extra premium. Had I not called home before the date I would for ever more have had to answer Yes! I can still thankfully answer no to the relevant question. I hope that relating my very poor experience with Caravan and Motorhome Club/ Devitts may save someone on here a similar experience.
Incidentally when dealing by e mail with their original letter refusing to accept any ncb the date on which they threatened to cancel was inconsistent.

 

[Deleted member 3057]

When I insured my camper with AiB last year they asked for written proof of my 9 years ncb within 14 days.

On my 'demands and needs statement' it states ncb = 9 years

Also has NCB : 9 years at the bottom of the ERS statement page.

I think I had better put these documents in the safe.

 

[KuyaAndAte]

The title had me confused. I was trying to work out what the National Coal Board had to do with motorhoming, unless they have just invented motorhomes that run on coal and steam power :lol-053:

Then I thought, ahhh, no, it's the National Childrens' Bureau. No, that can't be right :rolleyes2:

The National Commercial Bank? Mmmmm, probably not, unless it is about getting a loan to buy a motorhome :rolleyes2:

Network Certification Body? no, can't be, this is about motorhomes not the railway :rolleyes2:

Narcotics Control Bureau - now that might be appropriate for some in here :lol-049:

Nature Cell Biology? No, probably not :rolleyes2:

It's got to be the Norfolk Cricket Board, there must be a motorhome rally somewhere in Norfolk where we can all play cricket? No? :wacko:



What a shock it was to discover that it is the new-fangled name for No Claims Discount

 

[AIBinsurance]

Hi folks

Whilst I can't answer every question on here, the short answer is most motorhome insurers do not use No Claims Bonus, and only a small handful do. From our panel of insurers we use again, most don't use No Claims Bonus but a couple of our insurers do. So, it is possible two clients, both insured via AIB could have two different policies (with different insurers) where one is using No Claims Bonus and the other isn't.

That said, if anyone is having a problem over No Claims Bonus and has previous or is insured via us, just call us as it's almost always very easy to sort. If your not happy with the first response ring and ask to speak to our manager.

We are very grateful for the support and business the Wild Camping members have provided us over many years.

 

[Private]

Almost always

.....
That said, if anyone is having a problem over No Claims Bonus and has previous or is insured via us, just call us as it's almost always very easy to sort. If your not happy with the first response ring and ask to speak to our manager.

.....

Whilst I can’t say that a manager will fail to sort out the issue I can advise that it was not easy to sort out my NCB loss issue.

I sent, by email:
“Thank you for providing my motorhome insurance for the past 2 years.
This year, however, I have managed to source a very low ‘marketing’ price elsewhere which I could not refuse.
I would therefore like to confirm I do not need cover from AIB for this coming 12 month period.

When I joined AIB I had 23 years NCB; it is therefore now at 25 years.
As my renewal quote does not make use of the NCB, could you please provide a NCB certificate for at least the usual maximum of 9+ years for me to pass on to my new insurer?”

AIB replied:
“Many thanks for your email recently received, however, unfortunately due to data protection we are unable to deal with this request over email.

Please therefore call the office on 02380 268351 at your earliest convenience.”

I explained the situation by ‘phone & I was then provided with a letter stating I had 2 years NCB; the length of time I was with AIB. (Proof available but due to containing personal details not provided here).

Therefore, one email, one ‘phone call, but no full NCB.

I expect to be returning to AIB next year so I didn’t pursue the issue; nor did I take it personally.
I expect some others in this situation will not be so pragmatic, therefore I politely advise you to update your staff about this issue rather than expecting customers to push harder to obtain what you state is “almost always very easy to sort”.

 

[jacquigem]

We had a problem getting a quote when AIB would not use email. Not sure where data protection comes in and it can be very expensive telephoning on a mobile fro Europe

 

[Minisorella]

I'm sure I discovered at some point over the years that you can only use a NCB on one vehicle, so if you run a car and a motorhome, you have to choose which to apply it to. Is this wrong or maybe things have changed over the years? The reason I remember it at all is because my husband was still alive when we got the van and we used to run a car each, so both of us had NCB on those and we were told we couldn't apply it to the van... although, as a courtesy, they applied a discount. At some point soon after, we switched to running just one car and insured that in my name with the motorhome in my husband's, so we had full no claims on both, so didn't think about it again. I could be wrong... I usually am :raofl:

I should add that when my husband died, we'd already switched to AIB and I've stuck with them, so haven't thought about this issue since.

 

[groyne]

Whilst I can't answer every question on here, the short answer is most motorhome insurers do not use No Claims Bonus, and only a small handful do.

Of the motorhome insurers I've used 75% do (I've used 4). I've only come across AIB that don't.