# car insurance.



## davo3587 (May 9, 2012)

Good evening,
Just thought id vent my anger and ask for some advice, after recently writing my car off in what has been recorded as a freak weather condition by the police, and is captured on cctv. 

I was insured with axa and had 13 years ncb, which stupidly i did not protect, i have just recieved a call from them telling me that my ncd has gone from 13 down to 4, i asked them if this was a joke and how they have come to 4 years, they told me that they reduce my ncb down to 6 years then take off another 2.

To say i was disgusted is an understatement, i have now tried to get insurance on another civic type r, which i was paying £310, has now gone upto £1300.

Any advice of other insurance or what i can do.:wall:


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## rf860 (Jul 24, 2011)

I don't think that's too bad, I was under the impression that it went back to 0 after you made a claim. Correct me if I'm wrong, but that's what makes sense to me.


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## davo3587 (May 9, 2012)

Axa said there policy states they can take between 4 and 20 years ncb, but other insurance companies take 4 max, which i would have preffered.


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## ITSonlyREECE (Jun 10, 2012)

That's terrible! Maybe try Greenlight Insurance, I've heard members of DW get a slight discount I think. http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=294

I'm guessing you've tried Confused.com and Moneysupermarket.com?

Sorry to hear about the NCB reduction, it seems like even if an accident isn't anyone's fault insurers find a way of blaming the driver. If you disagree with what they've done you could always raise a formal complaint with them? If you're then not happy with their response to your complaint you can then complain to the Financial Ombudsman Service who will make sure that you've been treated fairly. (I work within banking and know a few ex-colleagues who went to work for the financial ombudsman)


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## davo3587 (May 9, 2012)

I have emailed axa's complaints department, but i wont hold my breath. Ive been driving for 22 years and held my advanced licence for the past 5 years, and i thought maybe they could have looked at the incident and just took 4 years.


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## ITSonlyREECE (Jun 10, 2012)

There's no harm in trying. Letting them know that you will go to the Financial Ombudsman may help (but don't threaten them) - the ombudsman charge the company an admin fee of £250 per case which has been referred to them. If insurance companies work similar to banks they will consider what will be financially better for them and this could then influence their decision of how to resolve your complaint.


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## suspal (Dec 29, 2011)

^ If that don't work shop around fella tell them what happened you never know and If you get a better deal elsewhere you can stick two fingers up at AXA,good luck :thumb:


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## Shiny (Apr 23, 2007)

To be fair, AXA giving you 4 years isn't actually bad.

Insurers usually have a maximum NCB scale of 4, 5 or 6 years. Although you can accumulate more, their NCB "step back scale" is based on one of these maximum levels.

NCB step back on private car insurance is normally 2 years following a claim, so NCB would go down from 4 to 2, 5 to 3 or 6 to 4 years depending on the Insurer.

Most Insurers tend to have a step back from 5 years to 3 years, so AXA giving you 4 years is actually pretty good.

Also be aware that some Insurers will only transfer in NCB on their own step back scale, so if you change to an Insurer that has a step back scale of 4 to 2 years, they will only give you 2 years NCB (as per their own scale) rather than the 4 you have with AXA.

This may all seem a bit harsh, but if you look at it from another angle, say you had 20 years NCB, on a stepback scale of 2 years, if the did the stepback from the 20 years then you could have 7 fault claims and still be at the maximum NCB scale, with only the 8th claim affecting you premium wise.

Some insurers do give a very small discount up to 9 years, but the lion's share is in the first 5 or 6 years NCB, with NCB over and above 5 or 6 years being only a few percent each year. Step back will still be from 5 or 6 years in the event of a claim.


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## DMH-01 (Mar 29, 2011)

davo3587 said:


> Any advice of other insurance or what i can do.:wall:


Give Paul at Need to Insure a call :thumb:


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## bradleymarky (Nov 29, 2013)

I wouldnt moan at that mate, when my Zafira gsi was nicked they took 8 years NCB off me and i had to start again.


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## Andy from Sandy (May 6, 2011)

> Insurers usually have a maximum NCB scale of 4, 5 or 6 years. Although you can accumulate more, their NCB "step back scale" is based on one of these maximum levels.
> 
> NCB step back on private car insurance is normally 2 years following a claim, so NCB would go down from 4 to 2, 5 to 3 or 6 to 4 years depending on the Insurer.
> 
> Most Insurers tend to have a step back from 5 years to 3 years, so AXA giving you 4 years is actually pretty good.


So the fact the OP says he has 13 years NCB with AXA is not really 13 years when it comes to making a claim?


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## Shiny (Apr 23, 2007)

Just checked AXA's policy - http://www.axainsurance.com/car/policy-wording/2_1_106_CarPolicyWording.pdf

Section H on Page 11 confirms their maximum discount is at 6 years, therefore 6+ will be the same premium discount and will stepback to 4 years, regardless of whether the NCB is 6, 13 or 25 years NCB.


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## Andy from Sandy (May 6, 2011)

Thank you for taking the time to find that.

It's all in the small print then but it does give the wrong impression to the casual reader.


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## Shiny (Apr 23, 2007)

Perhaps, but NCB has always worked this way, or at least since 1987 when i started in the wonderful world of insurance. God i'm old... 

AXA's policy wordings will be similar to every other Insurer, or better. As mentioned, some insurers only have a maximum scale of 4 or 5 years, in which case the OP would now have 2 or 3 years NCB.

What annoys me most is Insurers that bark on about the level of discount, such as "up to 75% discount". Discount is only relevant to the gross premium from which it is deducted.

75% off a gross premium of £1,000 is the same nett result as 50% off a gross premium of £500. It is the end figure that matters, not the perceived discount.


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## Mattwilko92 (Aug 4, 2008)

its mental that they take more than 1 years no claims. After all you've 13 years without a claim, its only this (last?) year you've made one.....

mental


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## Andy from Sandy (May 6, 2011)

> What annoys me most is Insurers that bark on about the level of discount, such as "up to 75% discount". Discount is only relevant to the gross premium from which it is deducted.


I catch that one every time. "75% of what?", I shout at the telly!


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