Direct Line - No Claims Protection - What does that get me?

[WannabeOwner]

DL are offering a No Claims Protection for £175 p.a.

I can't work out what that protects me against because it doesn't seem (unless I am being thick) from the price at renewal going up

£175 on top of the premium bumps it up quite a lot ...

 

[Rooster6655]

No Claims Protection for £175

DL are milking the Tesla wagon!

 

[WannabeOwner]

DL are milking

That's the conclusion I drew too ... was hoping to hear otherwise from the learned people here ... but I might just wind up having my suspicion confirmed.

 

[DJP31]

It simply protects the No Claims Discount percentage that is applied to the main premium.

The size of the additional premium is supposedly linked to the likely hood of it being needed, so a younger driver with e.g. 2 years existing NCD would pay more for the protection than an old codger with 15 years existing NCD.

 

[Rooster6655]

It simply protects the No Claims Discount percentage that is applied to the main premium.

The size of the additional premium is supposedly linked to the likely hood of it being needed, so a younger driver with e.g. 2 years existing NCD would pay more for the protection than an old codger with 15 years existing NCD.

£175 is half of what I currently pay for my insurance which includes NCB protection for my current vehicle, can't wait for the alternative providers to come along!

 

[DJP31]

£175 is half of what I currently pay for my insurance which includes NCB protection for my current vehicle, can't wait for the alternative providers to come along!

And £175 is more than half what my wife pays for her insurance, also including NCD protection. That doesn’t mean your premium is suddenly poor value, nor that @WannabeOwner is being ripped off.

Comparing one persons premium with another is a largely pointless exercise as with so many variables it’s never a like for like comparator.

DL were brilliant a couple of years ago when they agreed the tie up with Tesla. At the time most Insurers were refusing to quote at all.

They blow hot and cold, for me LV were excellent 2 years on the trot, year 3 it hiked and DL came in at less than the previous LV renewal. Makes little sense on an individual basis and I certainly agree with your point about competition.

Unfortunately when the reality is Tesla are a shambles when it comes to accident repairs and parts supply, the insurance market is going to be a wary one.

 

[WannabeOwner]

£175 is more than half what my wife pays for her insurance

This is insurance for a youngster, so as you say it-is-what-it-is.

It simply protects the No Claims Discount percentage that is applied to the main premium

Thanks for the explanation. Now I get it ... my age was clearly getting in the way!

So if I have an accident, and next year want to move to non-DL company, would the (DL) "discount protection" element that I had bought be useless?

 

[DJP31]

So if I have an accident, and next year want to move to non-DL company, would the (DL) "discount protection" element that I had bought be useless?

No, the opposite. You start with X years NCD and buy the protection. You have a fault claim and then at renewal move to AN Other insurer. Without the NCD protection your NCD would be X-1. Having bought the NCD protection you still have X years.

 

[Rooster6655]

Comparing one persons premium with another is a largely pointless exercise as with so many variables it’s never a like for like comparator.

For like comparison Direct Line is double that of my current vehicle and premium I am paying

 

[Tony Hoyle]

NCD protection protects the discount, not the premium. So if you have a claim the discount remains the same and the premium goes up anyway (since you're a higher risk).. so it doesn't save you much.

DL is currently quoting 3 times my current car, they've always been expensive for me, so waiting for other insurers to get up to speed.

 

[DJP31]

For like comparison Direct Line is double that of my current vehicle and premium I am paying

So the interesting point here would be how the DL quote compares to what your existing Insurer quotes on the Tesla.

 

[DJP31]

DL is currently quoting 3 times my current car, they've always been expensive for me, so waiting for other insurers to get up to speed.

There aren’t queues of insurers waiting to insure Tesla’s. Can’t see that changing much tbh.

 

[Rob R]

They can raise your premium on the basis of your claim, but you still get the same % discount off that higher price. Stops a double whammy. Single whammy only.

 

[Peteski]

NCD protection protects the discount, not the premium. So if you have a claim the discount remains the same and the premium goes up anyway (since you're a higher risk).. so it doesn't save you much.

DL is currently quoting 3 times my current car, they've always been expensive for me, so waiting for other insurers to get up to speed.

Why are you expecting other insurers to be significantly cheaper? With MS/X insurance DL has been competitive for a number of years and was easily the cheapest option for my MX on first and recent renewal. So you might be disappointed!

Tesla insurance has been generally high because of their notorious slow parts supply and repair times leading to extended costs during claims. It's not unusual for cars to be off the road for literally months waiting for simple panel repairs. The insurance companies are wise to it and the resultant premiums reflect it. Having said that I think my MX premium is fairly reasonable compared to similar cost cars.

 

[MrBadger]

DL quoted us a small refund on P3 LR/AWD against our sub £1000 trade-in, not quite half way through the year. Couldn't believe a 50k car could be cheaper than a 12+ year old estate. I'll believe it when I see it though.£4xx or something/year. Similar happened when I updated my 14 year old for a brand new car. That was about £200 mark. Both fully comp with business.

I think the M3 excess was quite a bit higher though, but nothing prohibitive. iiirc around £800 off top of my head.

You do need to talk to DL at renewal time though. Normally it starts "what are you going to do to stop me shopping for a cheaper quote elsewhere?" but, once I've dismissed the "shall we see what we can do with the excess question", its normally cheaper than the previous year. Lots of companies are like that. AA plays hard ball... but normally come up with something agreeable at 11th hour.

 

[WannabeOwner]

Couldn't believe a 50k car could be cheaper than a 12+ year old estate

a) AutoPilot will avoid accidents that you would make in knackered old estate ?
b) Clearly people driving knackered old estates don't think twice about bumping into Maybachs, because "they are only in knackered old estates" ? Resulting insurance repair bill Sky High

The Tesla models hold spots #1, #2 and #3 at the top of the USA crash test for safety ... less chance of injury ... maybe that reduces insurance cost (compared to an old banger, other new cars probably similarly safe)

 

[MrBadger]

But how much to repaid a not so knackered old estate compared to a Tesla, which will be in a workshop for ages awaiting parts for repair? That will have a huge effect on premium.

Plus, once people start having accidents in their M3P's, its going to stuff insurance costs for everyone else. Yes I know there is an acceleration obstacle aware mode (it will still have the accident, just not so severe), but I bet there are many new MP3 owners simply going for top of the range model without knowing what they may be letting themselves in for.

I came across a BMW 330 driver yesterday and I thought, "a gawd, in 3 years time, he (broad assumption) is going to be driving a M3P". I just hope by then Tesla will be enforcing speed limits and curtailing acceleration in urban/other areas. Imagine a world where a car is accident blackspot and weather aware - and enforces it all on its own. Just wonderful. Disclosure, I was involved in some road safety projects so have been fully educated in how much of a dip stick I was when I was younger.

 

[WannabeOwner]

once people start having accidents in their M3P's

Must be some stats from e.g. USA as to how accident rate compared with other vehicles / the sort of vehicle owner previously had when M3 launched there? I'd be curious to know.

There's a fair bit of driver-assistance going on. Young tare-away is still going to stuff it in the hedge taking a corner WAY too fast ... but all the lane-intrusion and fender-bender stuff may be much less, due to AP etc. and that might, otherwise, be the most significant Insurance payout cost? I'm only guessing though. Tesla's published stats say that owners driving on AP have 50% less accidents than other Tesla owners when NOT driving on AP ... its just a number though so I have no idea if it is actually a worthwhile statistic.

how much of a dip stick I was when I was younger

OK, hands up who wasn't? I think you're in good company @VanillaAir_UK

 

[Rooster6655]

So the interesting point here would be how the DL quote compares to what your existing Insurer quotes on the Tesla.

Why are you expecting other insurers to be significantly cheaper? With MS/X insurance DL has been competitive for a number of years and was easily the cheapest option for my MX on first and recent renewal. So you might be disappointed!

I could get quoted a price on a Model S and with Direct Line it will be double compared to another insurer.

If you meet Direct Line's criteria they can be competitive but if not the price might end up being a lot higher, so this is why I expect other insurers to be more competitive for SOME people who don't meet Direct Lines criteria.

I expect to be able to get a reasonable price below £1300 with 13 years NCB in the next few months.

 

[Peteski]

I expect to be able to get a reasonable price below £1300 with 13 years NCB in the next few months.

Ouch! Seems they don't like you or where you live at all.