Car Insurance – Multiple cars/drivers NCD

Apologies for yet another car insurance thread, but I don’t think we’ve done this one yet.

We’ve insured our cars with Direct Line for as long as I can remember, which means we are probably getting a crap deal and I should at least look at alternatives. But when I look at the price comparison sites I realise that I’m not actually sure about some of the answers.

We have two cars, which I’d refer to as mine and my wife’s although technically I purchased them both so I’m the registered keeper for them both (on the V5). They are both insured through direct line and I’m the policy holder (and pay) for both policies. However, on my car I’m named at the primary driver with my wife as an additional driver and on her car she is named as the primary driver with me as an additional driver.

We both have protected no claims, but my wife did make a claim (at a guess) four years ago when a fence post jumped out in front of her.

So, if I’m looking to get a quote for “my car” can I say that I have over 9-years NCD (the maximum Direct Line seem to record) since I’ve not made a claim for my car, or do I have to list my wife’s accident since I’m technically the policy holder (even though she is named as the main driver on that policy)?

Also, if I wanted to get a quote for her car with her remaining as the main driver does she actually have any NCD? Direct Line still say we get 9+ years NCD (since it was protected) and she is named as the main driver, but not the policy holder.

Just been through this with our two cars. One is a Hyundai i20 which my wife uses for work as well as most of our general mileage. The other is a Ssangyong Rexton mainly bought to use as a tow car for a horsebox. My wife drives this more than I do. They were insured under separate names previously but I thought I would be truthful and take both policies in her name. This caused big problems; you can only use the NCB once for one car. But this was not clear until after several phone calls. We finally got it resolved with me as one policy holder and her as the other. We both had 9 yrs NCB as we had been separate policy holders before.

Some insurers allow spouse/partner transfer of NCD entitlement. Mine does/did when we did this.

Timely question. We are in a similar situation without the claim. So two drivers, two cars, two max NCD and two separate policies.

I was wondering if it is possible to do some sort of BOGOF deal, well combine them and at least reduce the overall bill

Admiral Multi Car?

Bookmarked as I need to sort this at the weekend. Also with Direct line and now just added a second vehicle. We only have one set of NCB. Probably best to have this associated with the newer more expensive vehicle.

Thanks folks. At some point I guess I’m just going to have to chat with someone on the phone about this, but it would be handy to know what to put in the quote forms to work out which insurers might be worth speaking to.

I guess it would be simpler if my wife paid the policy on her car as then it would be obvious that I don’t need to mention her claim when looking for quotes on my car. But since I pay for both policies have I technically made the claim even though she is listed as the main driver on the policy and was the one driving when the incident occurred?

It might be simpler in the short term to go for a multi-car policy rather than having two policies, but then I guess it gets harder in future if we wanted to insure the cars separately as there would just be one NCD.

do I have to list my wife’s accident

I guess it would be simpler if my wife paid the policy on her car as then it would be obvious that I don’t need to mention her claim when looking for quotes on my car.

If you want to insure your wife on your car, then yes, you do. Otherwise, how does the insurer assess the risk of insuring you both? Insurers share data, including that of past claims.

If you don’t mention something, you’re giving them an excuse not to pay out in the future.

NCD doesn’t wipe the history books clean, it only protects your premiums.

Just renewed 2 separate car insurances for me and the Mrs. I’ve had them on a multicar policy before but didn’t feel it actually saved any money so I do them separately and get a much better price shopping around, especially with cashback deals. By switching both policies this year I saved on the renewal premium and also got 2 x £50 cashback for each policy

I’m the lead on my car, mrs on hers, both named drivers on each others car, both with full no claims. Essentially we have a Mazda CX5 and an Abarth 595 insured for ~£500 all in.

do I have to list my wife’s accident

If you want to insure your wife on your car, then yes, you do.

This. When adding my wife to “my” policy for my van I have to state whether or not she has been involved in any accidents, has points on her licence etc. Same in reverse when I’m on her policy for her car.

To be clear, about the accident, it doesn’t matter who pays for the policy or who’s name the policy or registered keeper is, the question is very clearly worded about the driver. If you want your wife to be a named driver you declare her accident when adding her on your car and on her car.

I think the NCD is per policy so that’s a downside of having a multicar policy and moving to separates. But I am not convinced NCD alone makes a big difference. You can try with and without. Just do be aware some companies are really funny about entering different data and seeing what difference it makes. We were, laughably, accused of ‘fraud’ on the phone for saying different terminology for our employment lol. They note how many changes you make in the forms.

Thanks folks, I think that’s cleared up my confusion.

My wife’s claim is still her claim (as she was the driver) even though I’m technically the policy holder and registered keeper of the car. So, if I was looking for a quote to just insure me on my car I wouldn’t mention her claim. If, however, I want to add her as a named driver, that’s where I’d mention her claim.

I’m still not sure how many years NCD I’d say she has. Direct line do allow her to build up her own NCD, which is basically why we bothered listing her as the main driver on that policy, but whether another insurance company would recognise that seems a bit less clear.