For a little while now I've been thinking of putting together a very basic FAQ for this section.

We've already got a sticky for insurance companies worth trying and I'd like to add to that a list of commonly asked questions in this section.

The big, obvious one is about declaring mods, but I'd also like to add some more general insurance information.

At the moment I'd like to know if people think this is a good idea.

If there's a reasonable amount of support for it then I'd like to poll the group to get a list of questions that we should be answering.

Once we've got that list I'd like some of the experts who hang around here to take questions to answer and then have their anwers peer-reviewed by others here.

Once we've done that we could post the FAQ and make it a sticky, with updates as events (i.e. changes in the law) warrant.

So, round 1, who thinks we need an FAQ?

Do we need an FAQ single choice
	Yes
	No
Votes accepted starting: 07/09/2006 23:23 You must vote before you can view the results of this poll.

Yep, good idea. I'm not sure why anyone would vote for 'no'.

I don't know, maybe some people enjoy typing the answer to "Should I declare my mods?" over and over again

Also, given events in the rest of the forum, I felt it was a bad idea for a mod to post here demanding something without giving people the choice.

I wasn't criticising you for posting a poll, more commenting that I don't think you'll get many voting for 'no'

(Should I have typed "no" instead or are apostrophes appropriate too (just started reading Eats, shoots and leaves so I'm a bit self-conscious at the mo.))

I'm sure single quotes are fine.

If we're happy to go ahead, shall we leap to phase 2 and start assembling the list of questions we think should be answered?

My first, off-the-top-of-my-head, list looks like this (in no special order):

1. What is insurance?

2. What is the legal requirement for insurance?

3. What are the different types of insurance?

4. What do I have to declare?

5. Are there any tips for getting cheaper insurance?

6. What is fronting?

7. What does the entitlement to drive other vehicles with 3rd party insurance mean?

8. What should I do after an accident?

9. Should I make a claim?

10. How do I make a claim?

11. What happens when you make a claim?

12. What happens if I have an accident with an uninsured driver?

13. What affect do points/claims have on insurance?

14. What is NCB?

15. What is protected NCB?

Right, that's 15 from me. What do other people think should be in there?

Once we're happy we've got a complete list we'll start trying to answer them.

16 Why does my post code affect my premiums?

17 Why is it cheaper if my Mum/Wife/Girlfriend are named drivers?

18 What is all this about insurance groups?

19 Why are some cars in the same insurance group more expensive to insure than others?

20 How is it that the police know if I am insured or not when they pull me?

21 When I fill in my registration number on an on-line enquiry, why do my vehicle details appear.

Another half dozen

Excellent.

Any more?

Bear in mind these aren't the questions likely to be asked by people who read this part of the forum all of the time - they're the questions asked by somebody who is 17, has passed their driving test after 3 lessons and now wants a 300bhp modified coop.

Can I insure two cars in my name and have no claims discount on them both?

The answer is yes, and no.

They all say no, but a couple offer to match (or mirror) your existing no claims bonus, or offer an introductory discount equivelant to about the same.


I recently did this and Noel Dazely offerd a 40% introductory discount while Churchill 'mirrored' my existing 9 years no claims bonus on the second car. Which could become protected after the second year.

The big grey area for me was when I asked how a claim on one policy effected the other. They said it didn't. A claim on one vehicle did not need to be declared when renewing the policy on the other. I think this is incorrect as when you are completing insurance forms they simply ask "have you had a claim in the last xx years" not "have you had a claim against this vehicle in the last xx years"

maybe answers to:

22) difference between an intermediary/broker and an insurer

23) exemptions to most standard motor policies

24) tips on how to handle insurers that you have been with for a long time (long term renewal clients)

25) Difference between a sales person, Underwriter and Acutary (and which to ask advice from if you need to ask your insurer a question, although you won't be able to speak to an actuary)

26) how mass market insurance models work (briefly)

27) What happens when an Underwriter sees a quote

29) your options when requesting non-standard endorsements



I am happy to answer any technical questions, on stuff like how insurance models operate, why prices are calculated in certain ways, etc....., so if you want to put a list of the technical queries together and PM me or put it in the mod area I can go through them in my own time.

I'm not so keen on giving advice on how to play models to get a lower premium, as this could lead to people giving incorrect or misleading information to their insurers. There are plenty of ways to do this, but I would advise everyone to answer insurance quote questions accurately and honestly. Probably something we will want to avoid doing AndrewR.

Something about the different levels of insurance:

Social & Domestic (+/- commuting)
Business class 1
Business class 2
Track days etc

I agree that we want to encourage everybody to give accurate information, but there are legitimate ways to lower your premiums ... adding a female relative as a named driver is the one that normally gets recommended on here

I know, but then we have to draw a line somewhere. I personally don't think there's a problem adding a older female relative to a policy to reduce a premium - it's just the inadequacy of some rating models that price a quote lower because of this (and you will never be asked to prove that the female driver uses the car or not, as this is irrelevant - just because you're insured on the car doesnt mean you have to drive it).

But, if someone then thinks that - hey, I get money off if I say that I do 8,000 miles a year, but in fact I do more like 15,000 - this can potentially be a problem as an insurer can ask to see MOTs or service records to prove what distance the car has approx covered in the last year or so, (usually) in the event of a total loss.

So, do we give advice on those areas that are deemed (or we deem to be) "ok" to fiddle, or not give the advice at all? What do you recon?

Just give legitimate advice (like adding a female) and state that any other means of getting cheaper premiums, like being economical with the truth about likely mileage, can prove costly if need to claim, declare an accident etc

Indeed - I don't think we should avoid saying what factors affect a premium just because somebody might choose to lie about them.

Hi guys, having read the above I think what you are proposing is going to be very useful to people. I agree with S1MMA that advising people how to manipulate in order to reduce premiums is potentially dangerous.

I think that sticking to the basics of insurance initially is an excellent idea as you will be suprised how many motorists dont actually know what they have or need when it comes to motor insurance.

If someone asks a particular question iro premiums etc then perhaps they should be considered, but again, as I have discovered in other posts, language can be misinterpreted so answers willneed to be carefully worded. Perhaps list a disclaimer?

Also, as each insurer uses different factors in their premium rating methods, a published piece of advice may be applicable to one but not another and the advice, offered with the best intentions, may encourage someone to 'mislead' an insurer which as you know could land them in hot water.

S1MMA may be able to 'borrow' an underwriting guide of some description in order that the guide is as accurate as possible.

Great idea for a post guys.

OK, so our list of questions now, just so everybody can keep track, looks like the one below.

I have added a final question in light of the discusion we've just had ...

1. What is insurance?

2. What is the legal requirement for insurance?

3. What are the different types of insurance?

4. What do I have to declare?

5. Are there any tips for getting cheaper insurance?

6. What is fronting?

7. What does the entitlement to drive other vehicles with 3rd party insurance mean?

8. What should I do after an accident?

9. Should I make a claim?

10. How do I make a claim?

11. What happens when you make a claim?

12. What happens if I have an accident with an uninsured driver?

13. What affect do points/claims have on insurance?

14. What is NCB?

15. What is protected NCB?

16 Why does my post code affect my premiums?

17 Why is it cheaper if my Mum/Wife/Girlfriend are named drivers?

18 What is all this about insurance groups?

19 Why are some cars in the same insurance group more expensive to insure than others?

20 How is it that the police know if I am insured or not when they pull me?

21 When I fill in my registration number on an on-line enquiry, why do my vehicle details appear.

22) difference between an intermediary/broker and an insurer

23) exemptions to most standard motor policies

24) tips on how to handle insurers that you have been with for a long time (long term renewal clients)

25) Difference between a sales person, Underwriter and Acutary (and which to ask advice from if you need to ask your insurer a question, although you won't be able to speak to an actuary)

26) how mass market insurance models work (briefly)

27) What happens when an Underwriter sees a quote

29) your options when requesting non-standard endorsements

30. Can I used NCB on 2 cars at once?

31. What are the different classes of insurance, SDP, business class 1, etc.

32. What happens if I fail to disclose information or give false information when getting insurance?

How about - "My brakes / suspension / tyres / steering / etc are binding / knocking / bald / wobbling / not working properly ..... am I still insured if my vehicle is in an unroadworthy condition?"

Is the type of question I've been asked quite a lot.

Hamster

Yup, good one.

Any more for any more?

Am I insured driving to an MOT test if my last MOT certificate has expired?

3rd party cover on other cars, how to see if you have this extension, what this actually means and how to use it. Best way to go about requesting it (if you don't have it), as most insurers will offer it.

Yes Skins you are as long as its a pre-arranged MOT appointment, which lets face it has to be done with teh new system

Your fine to travel to and from an arranged MOT centre and also to get the car fixed as well IIRC as long as it doesnt cause danger to other vehicles. I think you'll find a copper will be fine if you show them its just a low handbrake pressure causing your fail though

Advising people on what information to give to ins co's could cause some problems, so would it be possible to point people in the right direction to find that information on another website?

Also I remember a site that gave you a list of risk ratings (?) for postcodes, could this also be made available. Not only good for insurance but also has a use when looking to buy a house in a different area.