no claims bonus... use it or lose it?
 

a bit of a funny one here...

I'm living abroad in dubai at the moment and intend to be for at least the next few years. say 3 for the sake of argument...I have 2 yrs no claims discount which has seen my premiums go from £800+ TP only on a scooter to about £160 TFT&T on my SV.

My last insurance was due feb 2006, which was whilst I was still in the Uk. So i renewed and used the bike for a couple of months and moved to Dubai in May. the insurance is still running and I will have another yrs no claims at the end of the year.. giving me 3 glorious yrs of NCB.

So question, do i keep renewing bike insurance on a bike I don't own or use to keep my no claims going. advantages are, it means i'll have full no claims by the time i move back to the UK,

disadvantages, well paying (assuming it continues to go down) £100+ per yr to keep my no claims active.... oh and is it fraud?


thanks

Karl

I think insuring a bike you don't own is fraud but not sure why. I mean, it's got to be good for the insurance company to take money for a policy they will never pay out on.

I think the accepted method is to buy a real sh*tter, stick it in a shed and insure it third-party to keep your NCB ticking over.

Alternatively write to the insurance company concerned, explain you are abroad, and ask them how long they will hold your NCB for[They held mine for 2yrs on a policy] Only costs the price of a stamp and you have a confirmation in writing

I think everyone's NCB lasts for two years uninsured before it gets nulled. Just insure a ****ter, although they may take a dim view if you've insured a 50cc scooter for 2 years then go back to a 'big' 650cc bike.

If you can find some old beaten, worth like 50 pounds 600cc bike of some form or another, the older it is the better I guess because you could even do it on classic bike insurances if it is old enough.

Didn't know you lost your NCB if you didn't use it, all the more reason to keep riding!

The best option I would go for is to buy a frame and engine from a breakers of a sports bike (or SV sized machine) cheap and Dremal the numbers off and give it back that way all that is ever insured it 2 tiny pieces of metal. Their not going to get nicked and you don't need to worry about storage etc.

Does this constitute fraud? Possibly, technically, but at the end of the day as has been said before the insurance company is just out to rape you so you might as well screw them first.

(As you can tell I hold insurance companies in high regard. Never claimed and if I didn't have to spend the £5,000 on insurance that I have over the years then I would have a much nicer looking bike than I currently ride!)

yeah, my insurance also says i can keep my ncb for 2 years. just read over your documents, it'll have to be there.

Why bother? in two years time, you'll be older anyway and have cheaper insurance.

because the no claims will still be useful! if you get up to 5 years no claims you'll be able to save 70% ish on the price of the insurance compared to without.

personally i would say just find the cheapest big bike you can (as mentioned they ask how big is the biggest bike you've owned in the last x - maybe 5 - years). i don't think it would be "dodgy" if you went from a 50cc scooter to a big bike though - you'd just get the premium loaded slightly.

not 100% sure but if you insure the bike and its nicked used in a bank job smashed up your ins could be liable for the claims that would follow

easy way would of been get a friend family member to get a little old banger and keep it locked in a shed as long as it was sorn you should be ok

think that would be fine but dont hold me to it

Find an el cheepo bike (£100), just SORN it, don't bother with the MOT either. Lock the bike away in a relatives garage for a few years and insure it TP only. It's not illegal and it keeps your NCB building up all the time you're away abroad. There's nothing dodgy about it. A cousin of mine keeps a wee Honda 125 dirt bike whilst he works away in Thailand on the Oil Rigs. That way he built up a nice 6 years NCB!!! When he comes back to the UK (I don't think he ever will now TBH :!: He's been out there for 6 years now - company chaufaur driven car, nice flat in Bangkok, a new Yamaha R1, Fazer 600 and a very nice salary to boot (all UK tax free as well :D :D ))

he's got his eye on a new Triumph 1050 Sprint. Thst NCB will come in handy.