Pook Posted September 8, 2006 Share Posted September 8, 2006 my car has been broken into - nothing stolen (nothing to steal), but a load of damage done. I've phoned my insurer, who have said i will have to pay my excess, lose my no claims, and then my insurance costs will double. All in all, I stand to lose £800-900 as a result. I can probably get the door fixed myself for £300. So my question is, what use is my insurance company in this instance? I can't see any benefit in having them for this kind of claim. I understand why i'd need a policy in impact/injury/third party claims, but for this, they are completely useless. Plus, I had to wait 45 mins to get through. It's Norwich union, so in theory I could have been there within 10 minutes to talk it through in person. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lalaland Posted September 8, 2006 Share Posted September 8, 2006 My experience with insurance companies is that it's only worth claiming for stuff you can't afford to sort yourself. If you can afford to repair your car then do so and you'll save money in the long run, but in the case of it being written off or you causing damage or injury to a third party then they'll be useful. I would only claim on your insurance if it's absolutely required and you can't afford to resolve the situation any other way. Making claims for break ins on your car is often not worth doing. It's normally cheaper in the long run to fix it yourself. Norwich Union are useless from what I've seen. They always advertise quoting people happy, but every time I get a quote from them for bike or car it's normally a hell of a lot more than the one I go with. An example would be my last renewal, I'm 27, a home owner living with partner, professional low rish career, high powered saloon, 6 years no claims (protected). Norwich Union quoted me over £1,500 for the year fully comp, the company I went with quoted me just over £550 for the year or £620 with protected no claims. The majority of quotes were around the £600-700 area. I've never in all my driving life had a cheap quote from them for cars or bikes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lalaland Posted September 8, 2006 Share Posted September 8, 2006 Just an after thought, about 4 years ago my car was broken in to and they made a mess of the car door. The repair cost me £80. I've had another car broken in to a while back too, they smashed the passenger window. Easily replaced and with the discount from being in the AA the replacement was about £50. A lot of insurers also get you discounts too without it affecting your no claims bonus. Just worth a thought as car repairs like this can sometimes be cheaper than you think and certainly cheaper than having to claim. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yummyyumyum Posted September 8, 2006 Share Posted September 8, 2006 i have also heard stories of norwich union and my first bit of advice is to look elswhere for insurance cover when its time for renewal, also the fact that your car has been reported to insurance it is now stored as an incident so evem if you dont make a claim next year you will have to declare it ( i found this out through experience a couple of years ago)i woulld personally get the car fixed without insurance at least then you dont lose the no claims discount Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah1982 Posted September 8, 2006 Share Posted September 8, 2006 my car has been broken into - nothing stolen (nothing to steal), but a load of damage done. I've phoned my insurer, who have said i will have to pay my excess, lose my no claims, and then my insurance costs will double. All in all, I stand to lose £800-900 as a result. I can probably get the door fixed myself for £300. So my question is, what use is my insurance company in this instance? I can't see any benefit in having them for this kind of claim. I understand why i'd need a policy in impact/injury/third party claims, but for this, they are completely useless. Plus, I had to wait 45 mins to get through. It's Norwich union, so in theory I could have been there within 10 minutes to talk it through in person. What u could get to Bangalore in 10mins? thats impressive!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D G - DON Posted September 8, 2006 Share Posted September 8, 2006 What u could get to Bangalore in 10mins? thats impressive!!!! Oh Sarah you make me cry ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cgksheff Posted September 8, 2006 Share Posted September 8, 2006 Sorry about your troubles. The school of hard knocks will teach that: .. a car broken into always has something stolen from it. Usually CD's. Be prepared to name and price them. .. theft from a car that is broken into often means that no excess is payable. ... depending upon where you live it, is usually worth paying the higher premium for a protected no-claims bonus. .. the company offering the lowest premium is not always the best deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pertfoxylush Posted September 8, 2006 Share Posted September 8, 2006 "also the fact that your car has been reported to insurance it is now stored as an incident so evem if you dont make a claim next year you will have to declare it " Not true - as you never claimed and weren't paid out, you don't have to declare it. That's like saying that you have to declare a 'claim' if you paid for the damage yourself. "It's Norwich union, so in theory I could have been there within 10 minutes to talk it through in person." Not true - if it's Norwich Union DIRECT than they won't even let you in the building. Lalaland: I'd check your policy details, if you were being quoted in the region of approx £1500, there's a reason, check your XS as you may be looking at a huge XS in the event of a claim. Pook: I'd recommend getting the repairs done yourself, you won't lose your NCD or a life on your protected NCD. As I said on an earlier post, even if your NCD is protected this doesn't stop your premiums going up, just that you don't lose NCD. If you have comp cover, you may be able to just claim for the glass and get the bodywork done in time. I would stress that you need to let your insurance company know that you don't wish to continue with the claim as they WILL reduce your NCD until they are made aware of the fact that you're having the work done yourself. Any more for any more? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lalaland Posted September 11, 2006 Share Posted September 11, 2006 Lalaland: I'd check your policy details, if you were being quoted in the region of approx £1500, there's a reason, check your XS as you may be looking at a huge XS in the event of a claim.Yep, there was a reason and that's because it was from NU. My excess is £150 with the company I went with, that's reasonably. Most of the quotes I got on that day were £150-250 excess. Even adding the excess to the quote from the insurer I went with doesn't come close to the money NU wanted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pook Posted September 11, 2006 Author Share Posted September 11, 2006 managed to get it all done myself for a whacking great £120. I put in the leg work and research where i really think it should be my insurance company's job to do so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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