Over half have never claimed against their car insurance

Motorists involved in car accidents are choosing to settle costs outside of their insurance to keep their no claims discount and reduce premium hikes, according to experts.

Car insurance comparison experts from Quotezone.co.uk  say 53% of drivers have never claimed on their car insurance. 

They believe motorists are concerned about meeting the cost of premium rises and are looking for ways to reduce the financial impact.

Almost one in four of those surveyed said they had paid for smaller incidents themselves to try and protect their no claims discount. 

Personal finance experts at Quotezone.co.uk sampled 100,000 car insurance policies from January 2023-2024 across UK regions and discovered drivers are making less than one claim per year on average. 

REGION	AVG CLAIMS MALE	AVG CLAIMS FEMALE
West Midlands	0.17	0.19
London	0.17	0.18
South East England	0.16	0.18
East of England	0.16	0.18
Yorkshire	0.16	0.18

100,000 car insurance policies from January 2023 – January 2024, full data available here.

The data found the average number of claims to be higher amongst females, although the proportion of claims was very low, the highest average for a female driver was 0.19 claims.  

West Midlands, London, South East England, East of England and Yorkshire were the top areas more likely to claim but all averages remained below one claim.

Quotezone.co.uk CEO and car insurance expert Greg Wilson said: “Drivers have always been keen to protect their no claims bonus – especially now when the average UK premium has risen to £956, so the low average claims rating is not surprising as people scramble to help keep premiums as low as possible.  

“A recent Quotezone survey showed 53% of drivers have never claimed on their car insurance, with 23% saying they had paid for smaller incidents themselves to protect their no claims discount.

“Our research of 100,000 car insurance policies discovered drivers across UK regions are making less than 1 claim per year on average. 

“If you have been in an accident, settling outside of your insurance could seem like the cheaper, more efficient way to handle things. However, incidents that appear to be minor, may be more serious than you think, settling the claim yourself may seem to be protecting your no claims discount but it could put you at greater financial risk. 

“Either way, drivers must report the incident to their insurer within 24 hours or risk invalidating their insurance – even if they don’t want to make a claim.  The most important thing is to be completely transparent with your insurance provider. 

“It’s one of the biggest influences on premium price so it’s important people track their driving history, especially their no claims.  Knowing exactly what savings they’re entitled to will help them negotiate a better deal – if in any doubt they can contact their current insurer or the Motor Insurers’ Bureau to access their historical driving data.

“Normally protected discounts allow drivers to make up to two claims within a three to five year period without losing their no claims discount, but this can vary between insurers so be careful and look at the specifics when switching providers.”