dpg123 Posted January 19, 2022 Report Share Posted January 19, 2022 Yesterday my wife hit a dog that ran out into the road (at least she told me it was a dog - I'll be watching the news for the next couple of days!). The dog ran off but not before it had smashed the front grille and number plate surround of her Macan. The repair bill is £570 for parts and fitting (the bumper needs removed to replace the grille). I have zero voluntary excess and £350 compulsory. I also have a £250 cover from Go Compare that pays off the first £250 of my £350 excess, leaving me with just £100 to pay in the event of a claim. I have 13 years No Claims Bonus which is protected. My question is, is it worth claiming for this? Will the insurance company just hike up my premium and recoup the money over time? Will need to declare this claim to a new insurer if I later switch, in which case that premium quote goes up? It's so confusing, almost deliberately so, knowing what to do. I rang my insurer on my work phone and didn't give any details, ut I was asking their advice. They said they cannot divulge how my premium would be affected. They also said I had to inform them of the damage even if I didn't make a claim (as if!!!). Any advice or insight please?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brillomaster Posted January 19, 2022 Report Share Posted January 19, 2022 i'd probably claim, thats whats insurance is for. £570 worth of repairs done for just £100 sounds like a good deal to me, i doubt your premium would go up that much if you 13 years protected NCD. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davey P Posted January 19, 2022 Report Share Posted January 19, 2022 I would claim on the insurance, and save yourself 470 quid. A no-brainer IMHO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bike Loon Posted January 19, 2022 Report Share Posted January 19, 2022 (edited) Also worth remembering that although you will still have the same amount of NCD next year as its protected, your premium will increase for the next 5 years as there is a claim on the system. Edited January 19, 2022 by Bike Loon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpg123 Posted January 19, 2022 Author Report Share Posted January 19, 2022 6 minutes ago, Bike Loon said: Also worth remembering that although you will still have the same amount of NCD next year as its protected, your premium will increase for the next 5 years as there is a claim on the system. Exactly this - is the claim worth it if they hike my premium up by £100/year for the next 5 yrs? If I could get some sort of clarity on what the impact of a claim actually is on a premium then it would be easy to judge. But the system is so deliberately confusing it's impossible to decide! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brillomaster Posted January 19, 2022 Report Share Posted January 19, 2022 well even if it is an extra £100 a year for the next 5 years, thats still comparable to paying the £570 now. but i dont think it'll be that much, i'd guess your premium is already pretty cheap. i had (well my wife had) a fault claim when she went into the back of someone on the A34, and wrote off my 330d. total cost of the claim would have been about £5000 i'd guess. and to be honest, i didnt notice any rise in premium this year, it was about £350, same as the year before. and i certainly wasn't 13 yrs protected NCB. the only reason i wouldnt claim is if the cost of repair was comparable to my excess, but if you have £250 of free excess cover i'd definitely do it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpg123 Posted January 19, 2022 Author Report Share Posted January 19, 2022 Quick question - if I did make a claim on the Macan, do I need to state this when looking for insurance on my Boxster, or just the Macan? So, if I claim for this, is there a chance my Boxster insurance could rise as well as the Macan?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pinewood Posted January 19, 2022 Report Share Posted January 19, 2022 8 minutes ago, dpg123 said: Quick question - if I did make a claim on the Macan, do I need to state this when looking for insurance on my Boxster, or just the Macan? So, if I claim for this, is there a chance my Boxster insurance could rise as well as the Macan?? yes you do. insurance is about the driver as much as it it which car you're trying to insure Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike597 Posted January 19, 2022 Report Share Posted January 19, 2022 They ask if any of the insured driver have made a claim in the last 5 years so if you insure 2 cars with both drivers, you need to declare the claim for both policies at renewal. My experience of similar (and with my wife's driving it's been a regular occurence) is that the actual cost doesn't go up by all that much. You can do a quick calc yourself by going to go compare or whereever and putting in a renewal quote for one of the policies with and without the claim added. If I recall correctly last time I had to do this it was about a 30 quid difference on a 300 quid ish policy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobbie Posted January 19, 2022 Report Share Posted January 19, 2022 As you’ve discussed a possible claim with your insurer, you wife will now need to declare the incident when applying for insurance for the next five years and anyone putting her as a named driver on their insurance will also need to mention it. Do not be tempted to forget to mention as they will probably have put a note on your file following the call. It gets very expensive very quickly if they think you are lying to them. If you don’t claim, I doubt your premium would rise much if at all. If you do claim it definitely will as although your NCB is protected, the base premium is likely to go up. You could try some dummy quotes to get an idea of the difference, but use false details as they may otherwise conclude that you are deciding whether or not to declare it. I reckon if your current insurance is £2-300, then you may as well claim as the extra premiums will probably not exceed the claim value. However if you have a number of vehicles to insure, then the extra on each may make it not worthwhile to claim (if the wife is a named driver on these as well) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpg123 Posted January 19, 2022 Author Report Share Posted January 19, 2022 26 minutes ago, Nobbie said: As you’ve discussed a possible claim with your insurer, you wife will now need to declare the incident when applying for insurance for the next five years and anyone putting her as a named driver on their insurance will also need to mention it. Do not be tempted to forget to mention as they will probably have put a note on your file following the call. It gets very expensive very quickly if they think you are lying to them. If you don’t claim, I doubt your premium would rise much if at all. If you do claim it definitely will as although your NCB is protected, the base premium is likely to go up. You could try some dummy quotes to get an idea of the difference, but use false details as they may otherwise conclude that you are deciding whether or not to declare it. I reckon if your current insurance is £2-300, then you may as well claim as the extra premiums will probably not exceed the claim value. However if you have a number of vehicles to insure, then the extra on each may make it not worthwhile to claim (if the wife is a named driver on these as well) Don't worry, I was clever enough to use a phone not linked to my account and didn't give any of my details at all. There's no way they can trace me. I think I'm not going to claim. It's not worth the hassle and the risk of breaking even over time. If it was for £5k or something thats another matter... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McDonald Posted January 19, 2022 Report Share Posted January 19, 2022 57 minutes ago, dpg123 said: Don't worry, I was clever enough to use a phone not linked to my account and didn't give any of my details at all. There's no way they can trace me. I think I'm not going to claim. It's not worth the hassle and the risk of breaking even over time. If it was for £5k or something thats another matter... I didn't claim for 2.5K worth of damage when my wife reversed into a stone wall. The policy was in my name (15+ yrs No claims protected). I'm cross with myself every time I think about it - bonkers. What was I thinking? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul P Posted January 19, 2022 Report Share Posted January 19, 2022 Just pay the money - the insurance company will screw you for it if you claim - they don't have anyone else to blame so its straight out of their profits - they will increase the premium, and when you go for a quote next year all their insurance company mates will count it against you and they will want you to use "we - fix - a - lot " buy are owned by the insurance company repairs who will I tell you - " of course panel gap isnt the same, they dont line up properly in new cars anyway " Their ball, their rules and they are thieves..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scubaregs Posted January 19, 2022 Report Share Posted January 19, 2022 The dog ran off after being hit by a Macan? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boxob Posted January 19, 2022 Report Share Posted January 19, 2022 Hitting a dog in a car, even if it runs off, is an accident which legally has to be reported to the police. Failing to report within 24hours is an offence - potentially a £5,000 fine! Hopefully noone else reported it nor was it caught on CCTV or dashcam. If you do report it to the police then it follows you must inform your insurance company. So, was anyone looking or likely to report it? I had to look into this a while back when a deer jumped into the side of the car. Hitting a deer is not an accident. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scubaregs Posted January 19, 2022 Report Share Posted January 19, 2022 I'd be more worried about the dog tracking him down and kicking the shyate out of him, it's obviously a tough B'stard. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boxob Posted January 19, 2022 Report Share Posted January 19, 2022 (edited) 24 minutes ago, Scubaregs said: I'd be more worried about the dog tracking him down and kicking the shyate out of him, it's obviously a tough B'stard. Haha. OP shouldn't go out a night! Actually, as it hit by and damaged a Macan my money is on the dog running off and dying of internal injuries around the corner. Edited January 19, 2022 by Boxob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuart21UK Posted January 19, 2022 Report Share Posted January 19, 2022 4 hours ago, brillomaster said: well even if it is an extra £100 a year for the next 5 years, thats still comparable to paying the £570 now. but i dont think it'll be that much, i'd guess your premium is already pretty cheap. the only reason i wouldnt claim is if the cost of repair was comparable to my excess, but if you have £250 of free excess cover i'd definitely do it. this + you pay insurance for a reason, use it and even if the cost goes up in subsequent years its still like having an interest free loan for the cost of repair Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpg123 Posted January 19, 2022 Author Report Share Posted January 19, 2022 1 hour ago, Scubaregs said: The dog ran off after being hit by a Macan? It was a massive dog and my wife slammed on the brakes. She probably hit it at 10mph. There are literally teeth marks on the plastic grille it smashed! I hope it’s alright. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpg123 Posted January 19, 2022 Author Report Share Posted January 19, 2022 1 hour ago, Boxob said: Hitting a dog in a car, even if it runs off, is an accident which legally has to be reported to the police. Failing to report within 24hours is an offence - potentially a £5,000 fine! Hopefully noone else reported it nor was it caught on CCTV or dashcam. If you do report it to the police then it follows you must inform your insurance company. So, was anyone looking or likely to report it? I had to look into this a while back when a deer jumped into the side of the car. Hitting a deer is not an accident. Just to clarify…I’m asking for a friend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobbie Posted January 19, 2022 Report Share Posted January 19, 2022 36 minutes ago, dpg123 said: It was a massive dog and my wife slammed on the brakes. She probably hit it at 10mph. There are literally teeth marks on the plastic grille it smashed! I hope it’s alright. My sisters beagle ran out through a hedge in front of a Fiesta and trashed the grill. They took it to the vet for a few cuts and bruises, but it was fine, still stupid though. Hopefully this dog was just a bit bruised. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpg123 Posted January 19, 2022 Author Report Share Posted January 19, 2022 1 minute ago, Nobbie said: My sisters beagle ran out through a hedge in front of a Fiesta and trashed the grill. They took it to the vet for a few cuts and bruises, but it was fine, still stupid though. Hopefully this dog was just a bit bruised. I think it should be. It had some cuts but wasn’t limping or struggling at all. Expensive dog though…I’m sure it made it home! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boxob Posted January 19, 2022 Report Share Posted January 19, 2022 It's a pity your wife, sorry friend, didn't follow the dog home. It's owner would be liable for the damage to the car (unless the accident was your friend's fault). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scubaregs Posted January 19, 2022 Report Share Posted January 19, 2022 Dog probably doesn’t even have a license, though may be insured. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dunks Posted January 20, 2022 Report Share Posted January 20, 2022 Are both policies in your name and with you as the main driver ? then having your wife "marked " as having an accident may not effect the policies too much in the future, also the insurance will not tell you how future premiums will be affected as they cannot look into the future as premiums are based on risk , things like moving jobs, if crime rates in your area increase it may affect the premium Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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