RoADAR/Universty of Sussex research

[waremark]

Surety have stated the number of claims is no lower but the value is...I think they put this down to lots of low-speed car-park type of incidents but fewer high-speed ones than would be expected.

I find it hard to imagine people claiming for car-park type incidents.

well... speaking as someone who has claimed for two (would have been three if I was paying) - it is surprising how costly it can be

The one I didn't claim for, was a shopping trolley that had rolled down a hill into the side of our car - two small dents. unfortunately right on the crease line - £550 to repair. Fortunately (for us) the person whose trolley it had been fessed up and paid out of his pocket.

The other two very minor but with similar cost - both of which were around £600 to fix... my insurance excess is far less than that.... Isn't this what insurance is for?

Interesting to hear different views. I don't consider that that is what insurance is for. I would not have contemplated claiming for amounts of that sort - I would expect it to prejudice my chances of obtaining competitive insurance prices in the future and so to end up costing me more. Maybe I am wrong.

[gannet]

I find it hard to imagine people claiming for car-park type incidents.

well... speaking as someone who has claimed for two (would have been three if I was paying) - it is surprising how costly it can be

The one I didn't claim for, was a shopping trolley that had rolled down a hill into the side of our car - two small dents. unfortunately right on the crease line - £550 to repair. Fortunately (for us) the person whose trolley it had been fessed up and paid out of his pocket.

The other two very minor but with similar cost - both of which were around £600 to fix... my insurance excess is far less than that.... Isn't this what insurance is for?

Interesting to hear different views. I don't consider that that is what insurance is for. I would not have contemplated claiming for amounts of that sort - I would expect it to prejudice my chances of obtaining competitive insurance prices in the future and so to end up costing me more. Maybe I am wrong.

Trouble is you are supposed to declare ALL accidents to your insurance company when requesting a quote - whether you claimed or not. So they have any which way from Sunday

I have protected no claims on my policies and so far they have not impacted my Surety policy at all - though they did say 'no more'! No excuse I know but that was a bit a stressful year, so my concentration wasn't all it should be when these things happened (both on or around my own drive )

[GJD]

Trouble is you are supposed to declare ALL accidents to your insurance company when requesting a quote - whether you claimed or not.

You are, although what insurance companies are really concerned about is whether they'll have to pay out for a claim. I can imagine an insurance company looking at two drivers with this sort of accident, one of whom claimed and one of whom didn't, as different risks in that regard.

As an aside, I think it's getting better now, but when I had an accident I didn't claim for in the relevant history, I found that incompatible with some online quote sites and comparison sites as I wasn't able to enter an accident in the history with zero claim value.