The latter, the insurers share information via a central database, probably the same one that the ANPR system uses to flag up uninsured vehicles and the one the "Tax Disc" system uses to check when you pay up etc.
Don't know how much information that central database holds about individuals but I'd expect at least a basic accident records (date, at fault or not) and convictions. Wouldn't be surprised if the information started with your inside leg measurement though...
They seem to dislike using it though ... last two times I've swapped, I've been asked to provide paper evidence of NCB (even though previous insurer is a different brand of the same company) when I've phoned they've suddenly become able to do it through the database, last time they allowed emailing a pdf of a photo of the paper, which is less hassle than having to phone, but I still wish they'd do it proactively using the database.
The ECU logging fault codes etc yes and possibly a snapshot when the airbags deploy(*) but the implication of the statement(s) was that something also kept a few minute rolling record of the state of the vehicle.
Hum, the .pdf of the User Manual is vague but doesn't mention law enforcement agencies. I'm pretty sure what I read did but that would have been the dead tree version.
(*) Reasonable to assume that that is the moment of an accident but it would be beter to work on simple G force from any direction above a certain level. Airbags only go off if they might help, they didn't deploy when I hit a drystone wall and rolled the car ending up upside down. Or when SWMBO'd did a similar thing. Both write offs.
1st central have very high fees for making changes to your policy mid yera(should you need to do so), including a fee for renewing (FFS)
They also won't send you (for fee) a paper copy of you current NCD when your policy expires so sending it to the next company can be a bit fraught
tim
The average cost of insurance has been drifting down, so I think we're roughly at the bottom (people are starting to warn of price rises in the pipeline).
Therefore it's a fallacy to assume that they (for whatever value of 'they') aren't ripping you off by keeping prices stable. It's like commending British Gas for keeping prices level when the wholesale cost of gas has gone down by 20%.
Last year my quote was the roughly same as the previous year, but I was still able to save 25% by shopping around.
Theo
That is echoed by another poster's experience.
The Insurers are probably worried about "Data Protection Laws".
I've had a pretty consistent (and value for money) experience with LV for the last three or four years.
The company I was with after 1st central accepted the email NCD without any worries.
A lot of them do that, and that's something to throw into the mix. It depends how likely you are to make changes. If you have to make a change mid-year every N years, and it costs X% of the policy to do so, for some values of the numbers it can still work out cheaper to go with the high-charges company compared with another with a flexible change policy but a higher premium.
Well, don't do that then ;-) I'm surprised they haven't noticed that it drives repeat customers away.
That is a bit of a pain. Do they give you an online renewal letter thingy you can print out?
Of course the big unknown is actually claiming - other than random comments on reviews sites, I haven't seen any data on how they compare at paying out.
Theo
you were lucky then :-(
tim
>
# you get an email
my chosen alternative wouldn't accept it because once printed it wasn't on "headed paper"
tim
I don't think I've dealt with a paper one for a while now - the email one has worked on others too.
Who were they? They sound like the problem.
LV and Directline renewals for me have been very close to their comparison site quotes for the last few years. Cashback sites make it worth swapping between them.
Well *I* know it - because I used to work with a firm that wrote the software for them - but I'm not sure I'd describe it as "common knowledge".
The silly nodding dog
I "persuaded" them eventually
tim
>
A few insurers have invented lots of different names to make their comparison sites appear better. Octagon is owned by Markerstudy and based in Gibraltor, Zenith is also based in Gibraltar, Insurance Factory is based at Markerstudy house. Go Skippy is a trading style of Eldon, 1st Central is owned by a Guernsey company with no details.
(Go to their websites direct, and scroll to the bottom of the page)
Yes. You need to separate the marketing names and companies from the underwriters, and possibly both from the administration and claims handling.
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