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- What’s a non-fault claim?
- What’s a fault claim?
- Does car insurance cover fault claims?
Although insurers use the terms 'fault' and 'non-fault', they're not necessarily referring to the person at fault for the incident. Let’s take a look…
'Fault' and 'non-fault' car claims can be tricky to get your head around
What is a fault claim?
To put it simply, a fault claims tends to impact your no claim discount, whereas non-fault claim won't.
A fault claim is when your insurer can't recover the costs of the claim from the party at fault - this would include incidents like a car fire where no one is to blame, or a car being hit by an animal. So, although these kind of claims are not necessarily the driver's fault, they are deemed as 'fault claims' because repair or replacement costs cannot be recovered from elsewhere.
What is a non-fault claim?
A non-fault claim is when your insurance company can recover the cost of repairs or replacement from the at fault party. For example, if you're hit by another driver, their insurance company can admit liability (because their driver was at fault for the incident) - meaning we can recover the costs of repairing or replacing your car. This would be recorded as a non-fault claim and would not affect your no claim discount.
Will a non-fault claim affect my no claim discount?
A non-fault claim shouldn't affect your NCD, sometimes your NCD may be temporarily reduced while your claim is being assessed, but if it’s declared as a non-fault claim, your NCD will be restored.
Will a non-fault claim increase the price of my insurance?
Even if you have a 'non-fault' claim, your insurance premiums may increase.
Statistically, drivers who have made a claim on their car insurance, whether it was 'non-fault' or 'fault', are more likely to make another claim in the future, than drivers who have never made a claim.
Insurers aren't implying that people who have a claim are worse drivers, it’s just that they are deemed to be more likely to be involved in an incident where the insurer could end up incurring a cost.
By increasing premiums for drivers with a previous claim, insurers are charging those who are more likely to cost the insurer further down the line with another claim.
This means that prices for the majority of drivers can stay lower. Drivers who have made a claim, meanwhile, benefit from their costs being spread out across a larger group of people.
How do insurers assess car insurance costs?
Insurance underwriters consider a number of rating factors when it comes to adjusting and assessing car insurance costs:- The vehicle's age, value and performance
- The availability and cost of replacement parts
- Any security features that could prevent theft or damage
- When and how far the driver travels in the car
- The claims and convictions history of the driver
- Where the driver lives
- The age and experience of the driver
- Changes in legislation and the rising cost of claims overall
So, in a nutshell, the way in which your premiums and NCD are affected by a claim, depend on whether it’s a fault or non-fault claim. Always declare an incident to your insurer, even if you deem it to be non-fault.
What if you're hit by an uninsured driver? Read our article to find out more