Oh...bugger.

[ipanter]

Just to add a little note to this, my girlfriend has had 3 claims in the last 3 years, yet every year her premium has fallen????? Work that one out?

[chorton_1]

Just to add a little note to this, my girlfriend has had 3 claims in the last 3 years, yet every year her premium has fallen?????  Work that one out?

Maybe the claim is that she has another years NCB

 

Apologies for the poor joke, but it is Fri afternoon....

[Kris H]

Personally I'd claim Matty since it sounds like it's going to cost quite a bit. I put through a fairly big claim last year and the premium didn't go up much. Lost two year's NCB but left with one. Basically with mine it seemed to work that 1 year was 30% discount and then 10% for the next few years. Would have taken me more than ten years reduced insurance to cover the cost of the claim, plus the hassle factor.

[chorton_1]

I'd do a quick bit of research.

 

Years ago I claimed on an accident in a Fiesta. I ended up loosing 2yrs NCB, with 1 left. On paper this looked like I would only lose a reasonably small percentage. However, the trouble was that I was no longer eligible for the same schemes and therefore my base policy went up as well as my discount going down. The net result was painful.

 

I'd advise ringing up a few places posing as a new customer, but go through the quote as if you have claimed and see what happens to your premium. If its OK then press ahead with the claim (or clam ).

[Scott_Mac]

Intersting take on things.... It could be more down to immediate finances available. £2k now for the clam, or £3k spread over 3 years....

[Kris H]

Probably won't be £3k though. Think mine went up by less than £200, but the claim was £2.5k +. Maths seemed OK to me...

 

The hassle factor is a big issue as well. My car was picked up from my house within an hour of me getting home (a bit shell shocked), taken to the dealers, checked, claim approved, fixed, returned to my door looking and feeling better than ever.

[Scott_Mac]

Exactly, i think its easier etc... and in the long run not going to cost much more, but I for one don't have access to £2k or whatever the overall cost is....

[MattyB]

Apparently, I can still claim now even though the accident was about 10 days ago?

 

My brother-in-laws policy on it has expired...could I still claim as him being the driver, even though he's no longer insured?

[Scott_Mac]

Err... interesting one... technically there shouldn't be a problem as he WAS insured... however there may be a prob with not reporting the accident at the time...

 

Might be worth asking strees this one....

[MattyB]

An update ...

 

CCC in Brum sent me a quote through

 

Labour charges - £1150 (painting, clam removal/refitting - and for some reason, they want to repaint the doors too???)

Paint Costs - £300

 

Plus whatever a new clam costs...so about £2300 all in.

 

I've worked it out that if I claim - my excess (£500) plus what I lose in extra premiums over the next 2-3 years will come to about £1300-£1500.

 

So whatever way I do this, I'm gonna lose a big wad of cash....my trip to NewYork, my Advans and geo will have to wait :/

[GCCK]

Matty

IIRC If you bro-in-law's policy had expired, then the only cover in force would have been on your policy. Unless he was a named driver, the cover would have been 3rd party for someone driving with your consent.

 

Hence it wouldn't cover you for damage to your own vehicle.

Unless of course you've got your facts wrong and it was you driving all the time...

 

Graeme

[MattyB]

Sorry...I meant he was fully insured + named on my policy at the time of the accident...its just that he was only insured on it for a week...and now its expired...

[Scott_Mac]

Something still says, the insurance company won't be happy that you didn't declare the accident immediately.. technically an offence.

 

As far as the actual insurance goes, he was insured at the time, so shouldn't be a problem... you may struggle a little to prove when the accident occurred, but not too bad.

 

For gods sake don't try and say you were driving, fraud is a whole different ball game....

[MattyB]

Well today I went to a *proper* fibreglass expert.

 

£200 to repair it .. "thats easy to repair" he said. Approximately £200 to fully paint the whole thing, if he can't get the area to match.

 

£400! Less than my excess!

[Kris H]

Bit of a bargain, but without wishing to rain on the parade, are you 100% that nothing else is wrong? Might be worth getting a geo done to be on the safe side since if a pothole can knock that out, presumably driving into the armco can. Still, with that and much much less money to repair, sounds like a lucky escape

 

Kristian (angel of death and general doom monger)