Claiming for car key damaged on insurance

[Randy_Baton]

My bonnet was keyed this morning I was hoping a smart repair might cover it until I get a respray next year. Chips Away have just refused point blank to look at it as its on the bonnet. They said a respray is the only way to go and it will probably need the bumper and side panels done to blend it in. Am I better off getting it done through insurance?

 

My excess is £350 so it would seem so. I have no claims to protect (first car/first year of insurance), However my renewal is coming up in 3 weeks, If I make a claim will the price of next years renewal go up?

 

I've noticed when filling out quote online I'm not asked if I've made a claim recently so not sure it affects anything.

[Gudzy]

My bonnet was keyed this morning I was hoping a smart repair might cover it until I get a respray next year. Chips Away have just refused point blank to look at it as its on the bonnet. They said a respray is the only way to go and it will probably need the bumper and side panels done to blend it in. Am I better off getting it done through insurance?

 

My excess is £350 so it would seem so. I have no claims to protect (first car/first year of insurance), However my renewal is coming up in 3 weeks, If I make a claim will the price of next years renewal go up?

 

I've noticed when filling out quote online I'm not asked if I've made a claim recently so not sure it affects anything.

 

I wouldn't make a claim, it will likely cost you more in the long run with increased premiums for the next few years.

[tatooandy67]

To be fair I would say run a couple of insurance quotes over internet (just use an alias to avoid confusion when you come to renew) but use your correct details, age, ncb etc see how much difference it makes with a recent claim added then compare the difference in renewal cost + your excess verses paying for the repair out your own pocket, sometimes it's the cheaper option not to claim, seems wrong I know but you may get stung when you renew

[Randy_Baton]

This is my problem, when running quotes on-line it doesn't seem to ask me for my claims history so I can't work out if it would cost me more.

 

Should I just set my no claims bonus to 0 its currently 0.8 so its not a big difference. ~£25

 

If I end up getting the bonnet side panels and pumper resprayed its going to be ~£600

Edited September 1, 2014 by Randy_Baton

[tatooandy67]

Insurance companies generally ask for claims & conviction history for previous 5 years, I remember when I faced a similar dilemma, I had even paid an extra premium to protect my ncb but come renewal time my premium had increased due a claim I'd made, I was hit by a stolen car so had to claim off my own policy as the joyriders were never brought to justice, but even though I had not lost any ncb my premium increased and unfortunately that claim haunted me every year until the 5 year period was spent

[Flex]

Bite the bullet dude.

[KyleR]

Bring it to a detailer, they may be able to at least polish the most of it out, to the point where you can live with it until you get it sprayed next year.

[BulletMagnet]

Since you were planning a respray next year anyway for the time being you could

- get a colour pen and fill the scratch and polish over

- get bonnet wrapped in carbon vinyl

- get some vinyl speed stripes going over the length of the car for the width of the damage

- put a Nismo sticker over the damage

- sticker bomb the bonnet

- pour brake fluid/paint stripper over the bonnet, go for the rat look

[Randy_Baton]

Well I'm trying to get Smart fix er to look at it, if they won't touch it I'll just invest in a polisher and have a go myself. I've already got touch up sticks/sandpaper etc.

 

At least I'll then have a polisher for detailing.

[Tim BW]

You could always ring your present insurer & ask them the difference between claiming & not, & the possible effect it would have over the next few years.

 

We would be happy to offer you a quote

[ChrisS]

You could always ring your present insurer & ask them the difference between claiming & not, & the possible effect it would have over the next few years.

 

We would be happy to offer you a quote

 

My wife did that once as did a friend.

 

Strangely come renewal time they were asked about their accident even though they did not claim. And oddly, both renewals went up. (considerably)

Yes I know some do, some don't, some good, some bad. But they don't put it on their letter head or website. So who knows ??

[Tim BW]

I do believe some insurers load premiums for non-fault claims or incidents, especially internet insurers, so I can see your point.

 

Also, what sometimes happens is that insurers open a claim if an incident is noted and then close it after a period of time if nothing happens. Therefore I can understand why some may increase premiums.

[Grundy]

You could always ring your present insurer & ask them the difference between claiming & not, & the possible effect it would have over the next few years.

 

We would be happy to offer you a quote

 

My wife did that once as did a friend.

 

Strangely come renewal time they were asked about their accident even though they did not claim. And oddly, both renewals went up. (considerably)

Yes I know some do, some don't, some good, some bad. But they don't put it on their letter head or website. So who knows ??

Happened to me,

Someone bumped into my previous car, grazed the front bumper. He asked to deal with this outside of insurance, which was fine with me.

 

I contacted my insurance just to give them a heads up in case it he doesn't pay up.

 

He paid up, all was fine.

 

Renewal came through, now I have to pay an extra 300/400 on top because of the non fault claim....

[rabbitstew]

No brainer really on this one, sort it out outside of insurance. If you make a claim, your premium will go up regardless of whether its your fault or not. Get a few quotes from bodyshops, you may find one who is confident they can get away with just painting the bonnet and matching the paint up.