My car insurance has recently come up for renewal so I’ve been shopping around and found a pretty good deal with More than. As quite a young driver (aged 23) I’ve been trying to raise my no claims discount over the years. I’ve never been involved in an accident however have made 2 windscreen claims on my insurance due to vandalism.

The first was with Norwich union who once I made the claim RAC auto windscreens wrote back to me saying the insurance company wouldn’t pay out for it and owed them an extra £20. I was a little annoyed but with it only being an extra £20 paid it and left it as that. Last year I made a claim with swift cover for the same thing. Paid a £65 excess and didn’t think anymore of it. Now my policy is up for renewal swift cover have said I haven’t earned any extra no claims discount because of this claim! I was shocked and appalled by this. Having worked in home insurance in the past I know that insurance companies have to list any main policy exclusions which were not done at any point. I’ve contacted the complaints department which have said that

“Every insurer has a unique policy wording which outlines their business practices and although these can sometimes be long winded, it is the responsibility of the customer to ensure that they are happy with the details before buying a policy.”

However isn’t it their responsibility to inform me of any big changes to the policy? I’ve said I wouldn’t even mind paying the difference in the claim as it was only something like £20. They’re not interested but I would like to peruse this further as think it’s incredibly unfair.

Any advice would be gratefully appreciated

Unfortunately you will never win if you make an insurance claim. You can even protect your NCB for an extra charge but then, when you renew, you will be asked to declare any claims made. You will not lose your NCB but your premium will still be loaded to recover the amount of the claim (or do they say it is to reflect your risk profile?). The only way to get your premiums down is not to make any claims at all.

A used windscreen can be fitted by your local scrap yard for around £50 or so for most popular models.

Personally I just get the cheapest insurance document that I can and I only use it to get a tax disc.

Tedmondo:

My car insurance has recently come up for renewal so I’ve been shopping around and found a pretty good deal with More than. As quite a young driver (aged 23) I’ve been trying to raise my no claims discount over the years. I’ve never been involved in an accident however have made 2 windscreen claims on my insurance due to vandalism.

The first was with Norwich union who once I made the claim RAC auto windscreens wrote back to me saying the insurance company wouldn’t pay out for it and owed them an extra £20. I was a little annoyed but with it only being an extra £20 paid it and left it as that. Last year I made a claim with swift cover for the same thing. Paid a £65 excess and didn’t think anymore of it. Now my policy is up for renewal swift cover have said I haven’t earned any extra no claims discount because of this claim! I was shocked and appalled by this. Having worked in home insurance in the past I know that insurance companies have to list any main policy exclusions which were not done at any point. I’ve contacted the complaints department which have said that

“Every insurer has a unique policy wording which outlines their business practices and although these can sometimes be long winded, it is the responsibility of the customer to ensure that they are happy with the details before buying a policy.”

However isn’t it their responsibility to inform me of any big changes to the policy? I’ve said I wouldn’t even mind paying the difference in the claim as it was only something like £20. They’re not interested but I would like to peruse this further as think it’s incredibly unfair.

Any advice would be gratefully appreciated

Hi Ted,

I'll start by saying Swiftcover are rubbish. A lot of people will disagree on here, but that's because they are insured through them and people get defensive when their judgment is being questioned. However, trust me, they are rubbish.

You are right. Insurers must make the policyholder aware of exclusions that do not usually form part of a similar contract. I would probably suggesting taking this further if the cover was incepted over the telephone when speaking to somebody, if they hadn't highlighted this. However, with Swiftcover being an internet based company, the complaints department have given you a reasonable explanation. This information is available to read on their site before taking out the cover.

My empathetic nature always appears when it comes to customers asking for advice on Swift. Unfortunately it usually means they didn't come here to ask beforehand, or didn't listen to start with!

musher15:

a company called The Screen Saver.

... I bet they are not as cheap as a local scrap yard.

Possibly not, but a scrappy may charge say £25-£50 for the glass then if it's glued in you need to pay for that too be fitted at a cost of £50 Plus? and they probably won't offer any guarantee?

I would tend to use a company that does the whole thing and gives me a guarantee aswell for not much more and i don't have the hassle of sourcing the glass and arranging for it to be collected and fitted etc.

just my thoughts!