Safe Speed Forums

I see a couple of insurance threads floating around, and thought I'd add a cautionary tale for SS members, as I think it's likely that many of us drive cars that are more expensive than average.

I bought a new Audi A3 2.0 TDi last November. Great car, I love it and it never gives any trouble. It has a "pearlescent" paint job, and the name of the colour, in English, is "lava grey".

Imagine my horror when, about 6 months ago, I came back to the car to find that a vandal had keyed almost the whole nearside with a scratch that extended along both doors and onto the rear quarter panel. I was upset for a few minutes, but then decided to be philosophical. It had after all been 24 years since I was last "done" in this way.

I thought the cost of repair would be at least £200, maybe £250, or £300-£350 if I was really unlucky. So my heart sank when I got an estimate around £600. At that price, it was going to have to be an insurance job.

My insurance company was absolutely brilliant in processing my claim. I didn't need to have got an estimate - the insurance company booked the car straight in to their preferred repair shop in my area, and even arranged for it to be collected. A friend who was away on business that week lent me his car, and I was in clover again. The only snag was of course that I had to pay the first £250 and my No Claims Discount took a hit, so when I renew the policy in November, I estimate that there'll be an extra ~£140 to pay, bringing to £390 what this incident will have cost me personally.

I've not had an accident for more than 30 years, and I live in a relatively crime free rural area, so I've tended to go for a high excess on my car insurance. I don't recall choosing not to protect my NCD, but I'll be more careful from now on. I never anticipated having to make a claim of this size on my own behalf, and I was caught out.

I don't want any other SS members to be caught out this way, so here are two things to consider.

• Bear in mind what these acts of wanton vandalism can end up costing.
• If you get targeted in this way, you'll probably need to make an insurance claim, so it's well worth paying a little extra on your premium for NCD protection. Check your policy today!

The good news - the repair shop did a fantastic job. I couldn't see any evidence of the original damage or the repair. The car was given a full valet and was returned to me.

I reminds me of a recent advert I saw recently. It said that they only insure "safe" drivers and these are determined by the amount of NCD you have.

So if your car gets vandelised or you get hit by an uninsured driver you can't be a safe driver....

Back on topic though...


My wife is insured by Direct Line fully comp wit £300 excess and protected NCD. Last year an old scroat ran into the back of her in an old banger. She put in the claim and expected that to be it. She had to stump up the excess on the understanding she got it back when the claim went through. After 3 months we heard nothing. After about 5 phone calls we found out the coffin dodger had claimed my wife had pulled out in front of her (not possible with the road layout). The company apparently agreed a knock for knock and that was it, we got stuffed with the excess. They could not give a toss about who was lying. Did not make any effort to follow up.

We contacted the police who could do nothing but said that this was typical for old folk and to call immediately it happens if there is a next time.

Direct line are shit! But I would go for protected NCD every time.

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Speed camera policy Kills

and this is why you should always claim on the other party's insurance.

They do this to close the claim - but they should have written to advise you and even show sight of the other party's claim. In your situation - I would have contested it and taken some photos/video to show this was not possible. Young lady we know acted on Wildy's advice of this nature - she won her case in court evenutally. Similar kind of story

Where was the impact? DL should have queried.

Mind you - this is the firm the Mad Cats had fun and games with over Wildy's incident. They did win theri case as well and even got a settlement from them for his widow whilst they were about it!

Course - Wildy's father was really in charge!

But yes = protected No Claims Discount if you can have this - but be aware that you are only allowed one incident and it can tie you down if you are renewing after one protected incident and want to shop around for "cheape" deal.

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Take with a chuckle or a grain of salt
Drive without COAST and it's all your own fault!

A SMILE is a curve that sets everything straight (P Diller).

A Smiley Per post
FINES USfor our COAST!

Approach love and cooking with reckless abandon - but driving with a smile and a COAST calm mind.

When I was hit last year I point blank refused to pay out the excess to get my car back. Fortunately the bloke that hit me was really good and phoned the insurance company at my request to tell them that it was his fault (for about the 4th time) and it was all sorted.

That's the trouble with fully comp insurance though. I don't drive an expensive car so I just have TPFT which means if I get hit and its not my fault they CAN'T process it through my policy.

I'm currently with Norwich Union and I got my renewal through over the weekend - at £50 MORE than I paid last year?! Considering I've just turned 25 I couldn't believe it! I did a bit of ringing round and managed to get a quote for £205 with £100 excess, protected NCD and £100,000 legal cover. I'm happy!

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Science won over religion when they started installing lightning rods on churches.

First thing to remember "protected NCB" is exactly that - its is NOT premium protection. Therefore your premium can still rise but you will be gurenteed the same percentage off.

I would definatle advise against protected NCB, I've never taken it out and never will do. Its a waste of time becuse of the above. Even if you have an accident you dont lose all your NCB, if say you have 6, you will probably go down to 3 or 4. So instead of getting 65% off you might get 45%. If your talking low premiums, say £200-£300, the difference between the premium will not be a huge amount. Protected NCB can be quite expensive - ALWAYS get a quote with and without. The only time I would ever consider it is if I was paying high premiums and the cost of NCB protection was quite low. However, generally protection costs rise with premium costs.

So just take a minute to think about how many years you would have been paying NCB protection over, and then look at how much you will save if you have an accident. Thats why its not worth it my opinion.

All it is is a way that the insurance companies make a few extra quid on low risk policies (note low risk, not safe driver).

It's on a par with extended guarentees in my opinion - better to stick the money in a savings account year-on-year and pay out any difference from that. I think you'll find over an extended period you'll have a significant amount of money in there!

I know if I was to claim tomorrow I would still be in profit. Don't forget that Diesel_Moments premium will rise not just because he's got less NCB but also because he's made a claim.

a few years back I had to make 2 theft claims in the one year. That saw my no-claims go from 60% to 20% in one hit. If that happened now my premium would go from £600 to £1200. From memory, no claims protection cost around £50 on my policy.

Yeah and your plasma screen could blow up a day after the manufactures guarentee expires, but that doesn't mean that the Argos extended guarentee makes financial sense. Sometimes shit happens if you pardon my language but for the vast majority of people NCB protection will cost them far more over the long run then they will ever benefit from.

I suppose for those that are financially cautious it offers peace of mind, but it doesn't mean it's worth the money.

Now - why do extended guarantees only apply till something is a certain age - eg - washing machines- new - you can get an extension for 4 years ( makes them 5 year old) then another for 2 years - then --"what ,it's HOW OLD " -- SORRY.
Cars - now getting better .
BUT at what price ??

Suppose next item ( oops already has arrived) -- a maintenance/repair guarantee on you ---from someone like BUPA/HSA etc/etc.

Mrs B wants to know if it means she gets a new /younger hbby, with same earning potential. ( and can she choose physical attributes )

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lets bring sanity back to speed limits.
Drivers are like donkeys -they respond best to a carrot, not a stick .Road safety experts are like Asses - best kept covered up ,or sat on