Settling claims without insurance

obi_waynne

Administrator
Staff member
Moderator
Points
1,157
Location
Deal, Kent UK
Car
A3 1.4 TFSI 150 COD
Would you ever settle a claims without going through your insurance?

When would you consider this an option and when would you walk away?

Have you ever paid for a repair to avoid using your insurance? What about if another motorist is involved?
 
Look at the cost of lost no claims bonus and how much your premium will go up (*assume 10% per claim and you won't be far wrong)

Then if you can repair the damage yourself do so and you'll save. Claiming for small amounts on the insurance is not cost effective.

I'm pretty sure though that even if you claim outside of insurance you should still disclose the loss or damage for information purposes to your insurer for their records.

Paying for someone elses car damage is tricky, your insurers are unlikely to help out if they demand more money for more damage as you've accepted liability.
 
Look at the cost increase over 3 years as well, it's not just the next year that pushes up the premium.

Approximate 10% premium increase over 3 years, loss of no claims bonus worth 50% in some cases (an accident near the end of year 3 - pushes you back to zero as you lose 2 years and don't earn NCB in the year you have the accident!)

Paying an excess towards your damage also pushes up the claim costs in real terms.

Expect a typical claim to cost you around £500-700 over 3 years, or more if you are a young driver.
 
Depends if it was my fault or not I suppose. I've never made an insurance claim so I wouldn't really know.

Yes I did, I claimed for a windscreen replacement once. The experience of being on hold, being passed around operators & repeating myself over & over put me off dealing with them. Now I just by the cheapest policy I can get. I did get a free toy though!
 

Similar threads


Please watch this on my YouTube channel & Subscribe.


Back
Top