So long car ownership, I'd like to say it has been a delight, but...

[fossyant]

Yourself!

Nope I'm not important. Bikes are.

 

[I like Skol]

What does puzzle me though is that the car and I are both getting older; I'm 67 with a full no claims bonus. Been with this insurer umpteen years, so why does the premuim keep going up - ?

You kind of answer your own question. Change providers to a cheaper one, you are being charged for your loyalty.
In my case, once out of the 'young male' category I have managed to effectively maintain premiums at a stable level once you factor in inflation, changes in use and vehicle type. Sometimes the same company manages to keep my business for more than a year, but once they exceed the market they lose my custom.
This market force from all customers is the only way to keep them competing against each other and stop the blatant profiteering that can occur in a less active market place.

 

[simongt]

And of course, there's the company ploy of 'here's your new quote, if you're happy you need do nothing - !' And so many folk bung it in their 'to do tray' at home to deal with later and suddenly it's too later and the premuim has been whipped out of their bank account - ! 🤣

 

[Brads]

Theres a clue

Yup, certainly gives me a good clue about you right enough.

Was it a motorbike ?

 

[si_c]

Mrs C drives, I don't and never have.

We both try to avoid unneccessary journeys - Mrs C walks or rides to work weather/post work activities permitting and as there is a supermarket within walking distance (under a mile there and back) we dont' use it for shopping other than once or twice a month for bulkier items and often Mrs C does that on the way home from work anyway. The upshot is that the car barely put 2.5k miles on last year which is not too bad.

I ride everywhere and certainly have never felt I should have a car myself, living in a largely urbanised area there is just no need.

 

[MrGrumpy]

Not quite so easy with a family , you would have to be committed to the cause !

 

[Drago]

Aside from people keep giving me cars, the omly reason I carry on is because of Mrs D's wheelchair. As valiant as I like I cant balance that and her on the crossbar. As it is, I ride more than 3 times as many miles as I drive. Indeed, I do so lottle car mileage it actually becomes a ballache to keep the car in good order and ready for action.

 

[Edwardoka]

I know literally nothing about car ownership (I have neither TV nor driving licence ) so forgive my ignorance - do you need to declare *everything* that happens to your car?

A catalytic converter getting stolen is a major pain in the ass and would definitely increase your premiums on account of the neighbourhood being considered riskier. Would it not have been cheaper to replace it yourself than to claim it on your insurance?

I understand that getting the insurance company involved after a collision is mandatory, but if it's a no-fault claim why would you lose your NCB?

 

[screenman]

Cost is rising its head a lot on this topic, what will you be doing with the spare money you gain?

 

[Pale Rider]

but if it's a no-fault claim why would you lose your NCB?

Not sure if you meant something else, but NCB stands for No Claims Bonus.

Fault doesn't come into it - a claim is a claim.

Worth pointing out a claim means you lose a proportion of the bonus, not all of it.

Many of us, including me, pay a few quid extra for a protected NCB.

Not sure if it's worth it.

 

[Edwardoka]

Not sure if you meant something else, but NCB stands for No Claims Bonus.

Fault doesn't come into it - a claim is a claim.

Worth pointing out a claim means you lose a proportion of the bonus, not all of it.

Many of us, including me, pay a few quid extra for a protected NCB.

Not sure if it's worth it.

I knew NCB meant no claims bonus, but wasn't sure if those cases where it was 100% the other party's fault would be excluded, since the entire settlement would come out of the other driver's insurance.

 

[Pale Rider]

I knew NCB meant no claims bonus, but wasn't sure if those cases where it was 100% the other party's fault would be excluded, since the entire settlement would come out of the other driver's insurance.

Seems to me something of a grey area.

In the example you quote, 'you' haven't made a claim on your insurance, so your NCB ought to be left alone.

However, there's nothing to stop the insurance company upping the base premium due to your involvement in an incident.

The result is the same - a bigger insurance bill for you.

In the OP's case, he made a claim for the catalytic converter theft which was not strictly his fault, which meant a loss of a proportion of his bonus.

I say 'strictly' because the insurance company could say he was at fault by leaving his car unattended in an area in which converter thieves operate.

The insurance company took on the risk 'car parked on street overnight', set an appropriate premium for that risk, and paid the claim when it arose.

Equally, the OP would have known that in the event of such a claim, he would lose some of his bonus.

The phrase: "where's the beef?" springs to mind.

 

[Andy in Germany]

Not quite so easy with a family , you would have to be committed to the cause !

I've been told this a number of times, but it's not as hard as people think: the Eldest of my kids is now 18 and we haven't ever owned a car since we were married. For my kids it meant greater independence because they went to school by public transport and because of this have a free pass for the city: any time they want to go anywhere they just go: no waiting for the Papa taxi. I appreciate that public transport is probably better organised than in the UK, but we don't live in the city of Stuttgart, and while the bus service isn't that bad it isn't brilliant, or very frequent.

To me it's much harder to deal with owning a very large, complex, and expensive vehicle that I'm responsible for maintaining to the mandated standards, to keep it safe less likely to kill people, for which I have to pay for tests, fuelling, insuring, and ultimately replacing, all of which costs an apparently large amount of money.

I also have to figure out storage, although for many car owners the solution to this seems to be to make someone else pay for that aspect.

I think a lot of the difficulty is connected to the expectations people have on others and their own lives. When I was in technical college I lived further away from the college than my peers. I also was the only one who cycled there. I was also the only one consistently on time. The four consistently late students were the four who came by car, and every time they were stressed, tired, and in winter vocally cold for the first hour. I'd arrive punctually, awake and always warm.

I'm not saying it's possible for everyone: we have the advantage of more traffic free cycle routes than you'd get in the UK, and I don't own a company that needs to deliver bulky items, for example, but it isn't as difficult as people sometimes assume.

I think that sometimes it is a matter of priorities and planning, and making a specific decision to work in a certain way.

 

[Notafettler]

Cost is rising its head a lot on this topic, what will you be doing with the spare money you gain?

Beer

 

[Brooks]

Great post Andy, I love hearing how other folk get by without a car it's inspiring really. London is extremely well served by public transport so it's much easier to be car free. I appreciate it's much harder if someone lives in a semi rural environment.
I can get by without a car but once thought that impossible like many people do.