NCD

[RayS]

This is going to sound a stupid question but having had some dealings with insurere that were less than locical I 'll ask anyway.

If I make a claim and it is rejected, does this affect my NCD .
Similarly, if I make a claim and the insurer offers less than the full amount claimed and I reject this offer what about the NCD .

Logically since they will have not paid out under either of these scenarios the NCD status should not be affected. But I would have actually made a claim, and so might be taken to have affected the NCD ?

Hopefully someone will know and advise.

My NCD is on maximum discount and is 'protected' for a fee and there is a voluntary excess.
But tmy estimate for the possible claim would be 5 or 6 times the excess.

 

[Raywood]

If a claim is rejected and no payment made then your bonus should not be affected assuming they still want to insure you.
If you make a claim and the insurer makes an offer not acceptable to you and no payment is made then providing you withdraw the claim you should retain your bonus. Not sure this is likely as usually some compromise is reached.
The size of the claim is irrelevant though any payment would affect the bonus.

 

[ProfJohnL]

This is going to sound a stupid question but having had some dealings with insurere that were less than locical I 'll ask anyway.

If I make a claim and it is rejected, does this affect my NCD .
Similarly, if I make a claim and the insurer offers less than the full amount claimed and I reject this offer what about the NCD .

Logically since they will have not paid out under either of these scenarios the NCD status should not be affected. But I would have actually made a claim, and so might be taken to have affected the NCD ?

Hopefully someone will know and advise.

My NCD is on maximum discount and is 'protected' for a fee and there is a voluntary excess.
But tmy estimate for the possible claim would be 5 or 6 times the excess.

This is another of those questions that would be best put to your insurer, as each company might have slightly different approach. But what i do know is NCD stands for "No Claims Discount" so in theory any claim made whether its paid out in part or full or not is a claim and my affect any Discount you may have accrued.

The common misconception, is that you make a claim for damage that was caused by someone else, its still a claim and it will form part of your claims history.

 

[Raywood]

While it is called a no claims bonus in practice if no payment is made the bonus is not affected. If an accident occurs that is not your fault then provided the insurer recovers their outlay the bonus will be allowed. Beware thoigh some insurers will say you are a worse risk even if it is not your fault. This is complete nonsense but they still up your premium.

 

[Dustydog]

My NCD is on maximum discount and is 'protected' for a fee and there is a voluntary excess.

Ray S.
You can relax .You have paid an additional premium to protect your NCD.
You probably have the standard "two lives" before your NCD is prejudiced.

 

[Raywood]

Frankly I think some insurers are pulling a fast one as if you have an accident they still put the premium up.

 

[RayS]

Update on my original posting.
As some may have read between the lines I had a claim pending. The caravan has been declared beyond economic repair and I am waiting =to find out exactly what 'new for old' means in practice.
The policy uses the term ' equivalent' caravan replacement but there is no definition of who decides what is equivalent.
I would assume that if the write off is a four berth fixed side bed end washroom layout then the suggested equivalent would have to match these basic features, but I ma wondering about the finer points which make you choose one caravan against another in the first place. A simple example wold be the length and orientation of the fixed bed. Being 6ft + this was significant.

Then there is the matter of insuring a new caravan. Although the NCD is 'prtected' how can one be confident that the basic premium has not been elevated in the light of the claim. It seems that the present policy is ended with the claim, any months outstanding credit on the policy are lost and you basically start again with the exception of the NCD..

I would be interested to learn the experience of others while I wait and wait for loss adjusters to make an offer.

 

[Parksy]

Hi Ray
We bought a brand new Abbey 540 in March 2007 for just over £9000 and insured it via the C&CC Club Care scheme on a new for old policy.
Unfortunately in July that same year our caravan was flooded (along with many others) when it was on a seasonal pitch next to the River Avon during freak bad weather which flooded much of the Vale of Evesham and the town of Tewkesbury.
The insurance assessor arrived within the week, declared our Abbey 540 a total loss and arranged to have it removed for salvage.
The new for old replacement didn't actually involve an exchange of caravans as such because by choosing a new for old policy we had insured the total cost of the caravan plus an additional sum of money for the awning and accessories.
The C&CC representative asked us to choose a replacement caravan of similar value to the one written off.
As things turned out we preferred the Abbey 620, a bigger model with twin axles which cost around 12,000 at the time with discounts because we bought again from the original dealership (Davan in Weston Super Mare).
Club Care insurance sent a cheque for the full cost of the written off caravan to Davan Caravans (we could have chosen any make, model and dealer) and we simply paid the extra money because we upgraded.
Sorry I can't advise about the NCD because we didn't have the first new caravan for long enough to build up much of a NCD, but the more expensive replacement was cheaper to insure because after the flood we left our riverside seasonal pitch and put the 620 in a secure and flood proof storage location where it remains to this day.
Good luck with your claim.

 

[Raywood]

If the make and model you have is still available then replacement as new is that one. If the model is no longer made then the caravan should be the nearest equivalent either from that firms model range or from another manufacturer if neccessary. This can be subjective but if the insurer picks a model you do not accept as reasonable then they have to justify there decision and you have to say why you think they are wrong. If you cannot agree you have the right to go to the Ombudsman or raise proceedings.
Our last caravan was from Avondale and was insured with the CC. They would give you their idea of tbe nearest replacement before renewal but as they tended to go for a Coachman model which was too heavy for the car I was able to get them to substitute a Lunar model.
Our current model is no longer available nor is the layout on any equivalent make at that level. I am now with the C&CC who do not specify their idea so when taking out the policy I specifically named the model I was basing my valuation on and the man on the phone accepted it. This should be of help in the event of a dispute and I would suggest this is the best way of trying to establish what you are looking for if yours is no longer available.
As for a no claims bonus the usual position is the bonus will be retained if the insurer can recover thier outlays. The problem with replacemant as new is if your caravan is a few years old. Tbe replacement might be £20.000 but the actual value £10.000. Essentialy all the insurer can legally recover is the market value so there is a loss of £10,000. It is then up to the insurer as to how they deal with the bonus. Technically the insurer has lost money so the bonus could be lost but it is up to the insurer and they may go different ways. The only way to be sure is to ask them before you take out the insurance.
Some insurers do increase car policies premiums if you have a no fault accident but not all. Again all you can do is ask before taking out the policy and get them to commit to an answer.

 

[Parksy]

On a C&CC new for old policy you are insuring the sum of money in the case of total loss.
It's for you to decide what model you choose as a replacement, the insurer sends a cheque to the dealership for the sum insured.

 

[Raywood]

On a C&CC new for old policy you are insuring the sum of money in the case of total loss.
It's for you to decide what model you choose as a replacement, the insurer sends a cheque to the dealership for the sum insured.

I accept that point but the sum involved has to be based on a specific model and that is what you need to get right. The C&CC do use a broker and at least two different insurers, as I was given quotes from two, so there is a chance that the settlement policy of the insurers might vary between the companies and if you use a policy not from either club then again you may get a different approach.

 

[Parksy]

In my case the sum was 'based on a specific model' because I bought a caravan insurance policy, but after our caravan was written off we were able to choose any make or model from any dealership as the replacement. We chose a more expensive caravan after waiting for three months to get the next years model and to find a good discount, the cheque for the full insured sum was sent to cover the bulk of the cost, and we made up the remainder. This might have been down to the actual insurer, and different insurance companies and brokers might have different rules.
There was no pressure on us to replace the caravan early or to use any particular dealership, we couldn't fault the C&CC in any way and they took away much of the stress and worry from a heartbreaking situation for us..

 

[Martin24]

Our particular Bailey is no longer available and C&CC just asked us for the price of the nearest equivalent. We went with a higher valued Swift product in the end. Only Swift do our layout now which although I don't like their vans we would have to have to get the layout. We had to go up the ranges to get all the equipment that our anniversary GT65 has on it, even though the more recent Pegasus has dropped a lot of the equipment.

 

[Raywood]

It is unusual for a model to have less equipment than an earlier version, but provided you add the cost of this in your sum insured it should not be a problem. You should also add in the cost of a mover and any other major accessories you might have fitted. Basically you are looking to replace at the same level.
If the insurer accepts your alternative when insuring though, then they should be forced to accept that if the worst happens.
You will find the policy gives the insurer the option of replacing or paying the value of the caravan so it cannot be taken for granted you will get the value and be allowed to choose something different. Even if a company does something today, they may change their policy tomorrow, or take a different route if they feel differently about the policyholders claim.

 

[Martin24]

Ray, many things missing and it surprised me, outside plug socket (need that for charging chair) BBQ point, cheaper blinds, ATC, wheel locks and branded tyres. That was just what we noticed when it was launched. Haven't bothered to look into it more closely because apparently we're not ever changing the van.

The main thing was the layout being dropped of course. It's a shame because we find it works really well and the girls are much happier not being in bunks.

I think Bailey were losing sales of the Unicorn II to the GT65 because it was so well equipped. I think the only important distinction of the ranges at that time was Alde heating on the Unicorn.

 

[Raywood]

Ray, many things missing and it surprised me, outside plug socket (need that for charging chair) BBQ point, cheaper blinds, ATC, wheel locks and branded tyres. That was just what we noticed when it was launched. Haven't bothered to look into it more closely because apparently we're not ever changing the van.

The main thing was the layout being dropped of course. It's a shame because we find it works really well and the girls are much happier not being in bunks.

I think Bailey were losing sales of the Unicorn II to the GT65 because it was so well equipped. I think the only important distinction of the ranges at that time was Alde heating on the Unicorn.

If the layout has changed then probably the nearest model with that is correct. It does help though if you tell the insurer what you are using as a comparison and if they accept that then that is the best way forward. It is better to be clear about what you are basing the cover on now to save problems if the worst does happen.
My problem is the layout we have on our Quasar is only now available on a Unicorn and even then it is not an exact match. The two are simply not going to be regarded as equal so we have settled on the Quasar 544 which is the best we can do.

 

[RayS]

Matatter has a happy ending. 4 weeks plus a couple of days and I have cheque from CAMC insurers for a bit less than insured value due to excess being subtracted but quite acceptable.
The relatively short time scale was in part due to the owner of the AWS place I go for service telling mr an assessor was visiting him the next day about another caravan. One phone call and he did mine as well. Biggest delay was the loss adjusters having to get bids for an 'equivalent' caravan but a quick discussion with the resolved this. Quite a relief as replacement already ordered and deposit payed. Unfortunately build not until late July.
Club wil transfer NCD ( it was protected) so long as gap between old polcy (void after payout) and new is not longer than 2 years.

 

[Raywood]

Good to hear. July does not sound bad as most have a longer waiting list I believe, some Eldiss models had sold out for the year in February.

 

[RayS]

Very happy ending.
New caravan on the drive, CAMC insurance offered a new policywith full NCD and by increasing the excess actually cheaper than before. ( Old policy 'dies' when caravan is written off ). All handled well and in a relaxing way.
Compared to my only previous insurance claim of any sze ( severe gale damage to commercial size greenhouse) the whole process was almost hassle free and over in 5 weeks rather than 7 months.

 

[Raywood]

Good to hear the matter settled to your satisfaction. The CAMC policy ahs an excellent reputation but you pay for what you get.

 

[RayS]

Ray, I've just noticed on the other thread that you have fears the insurers may in future not insured those of us called Ray. Problem I have is that without the Ray I become John Smith which is not exactly the most convincing handle to have ( or didn't used to be when checking into hotels !)

 

[Raywood]

Ray, I've just noticed on the other thread that you have fears the insurers may in future not insured those of us called Ray. Problem I have is that without the Ray I become John Smith which is not exactly the most convincing handle to have ( or didn't used to be when checking into hotels !)

It might need them to run a check to see if claims costs followed our forenames. If it did a few other names might join us, so just hope that they do not include any middle name you may have. A few people have spelled my name Rae so I could try that.