Proof of no claims bonus

[Inferno]

I'm just trying to sort my proof of no claims bonus for my next insurer. My previous insurer was Adsa and they've been more than happy to provide me with a piece of paper stating 5 years no claims, which is fine.

However, I've been driving on my own insurance without a claim since I was 19, so I should have 8 or 9 years no claims racked up. I must admit that I've been a little lax with keeping old records, but I didn't see this problem coming - I sent my last no claims certificate to Asda a couple of years ago with however-many years it had on it and now they're telling me it's 5! Presumably because that's the maximum bonus entitlement. It shouldn't cost me anything extra with my new insurers, but I don't want an admin c0ck up to loose me a few years no claims bonus. I'm pretty sure I know who my insurers were over the years, but haven't kept any paperwork. Is there anything I can do to get my years back?

Cheers,

 

[RichRSi]

That's what many insurers do. I phoned mine when I noticed my 'entitlement' was 5 and I had 9! They said the same as they told you, however they said that there would be 10 years worth after this year so I'll ask for proof when it expires.

You could go through old companies an see if they still have your NCB on file and track it back via your customer reference numbers. If you have passed it on to your insurers and they have lost it or not made appropriate records then it is a shambles that they wont give you your full entitlement.

It seems to me that it is just another way for them to shaft customers and I am sure they hope many customers like you forget!. A company who is choosing it's own 'maximum' ncb is fair enough but not when this happens. There should be a database that shows how many years you have accrued and this is altered when a successful claim is made. You can bet your life they would want to know about how many claims you'd made before the 5 years but funnily enough they don't give a rats arse that you have been careful up to that point.

There needs to be some standardisation imo that insurers offer a percentage rather than years and it takes x number of years to gain 100% after that point no further deductions to your premium are made from your initial quote. If 5 years is the chosen maximum they should make it clear that this is industry standard 100% discount, people should not be under the illusion that more than 5 years is better etc
However I strongly believe that it's not too much to ask (when you have 9 or even 20 years no claims) you should be discounted accordingly and not by the same amount as someone who has made a claim 5 years ago!

Did you know that some insurers insist on seeing NCB dating from at least 2 years previous or they will bump you back down to zero!