The No Claims Discount (NCD) is an important facet to a Car Insurance policy since it can save policyholders quite a bit of money year after year. The typical discount for maintaining the No Claims Discount can be as large as a thirty percent decrease in the cost of the Car Insurance Cover. Who wouldn’t want to save that kind of money?



How Does a Driver Earn the No Claims Discount?

In order to earn the No Claims Discount, a driver must maintain a claim free record. In general, the driver must not place any claims against his car insurance cover for a full year after which, he has earned his NCD. Some insurers offer an accelerated NCD that can be earned after only ten months. This is very helpful for young drivers who are facing expensive insurance costs due to their inexperience and age.

What About Named Drivers? Can They Earn the No Claims Discount?

Some car owners have additional drivers listed on their policy. These drivers are referred to as named drivers. Typically, named drivers are family members who share a vehicle for driving purposes and to save on costs. Since the drivers maintain only one vehicle, they pay for only one insurance cover and vehicle tax.

Most insurers do not allow named drivers to earn NCD status since they do not hold car insurance cover on their own. The most common exception to this rule is for married drivers. The primary driver can transfer his NCD status to his spouse if they are both covered by the same car insurance cover. A small number of insurers do allow other named drivers to earn the No Claims Discount. However, these drivers need to remain with that particular insurer in order for their status to be recognised.

What About Company Drivers? Can They Earn the No Claims Discount?

Quite a few individuals are employed by UK companies that provide a company car for them to drive to and from the work place. Are these drivers entitled to earn the No Claims Discount? Unfortunately, in most cases, these drivers are not able to earn this discount. Why is that? A very simple reason exists. Company cars are generally insured by the company. This means that the car insurance cover is in the company’s name. Therefore, in most instances, company drivers cannot earn the No Claims Discount.

That being said, the situation is not hopeless should the company driver decide to obtain his own personal car insurance cover. Some insurers have left a small window of opportunity open and the driver is often able to obtain a discount of some type when he obtains his personal car insurance cover. If the driver has a claim-free status while driving the company car for a minimum of the last two years, the insurer might discount the cost of his personal car insurance. Of course, the insurer might require the employer to provide sufficient documentation of this claim-free status.

Intro: Are all drivers entitled to earn the No Claims Discount on their car insurance cover? Unfortunately, the answer here is no, they are not. Who can obtain the No Claims Discount?

Susan Kehan is a keen writer about car insurance and home insurance products.