| TL;DR: A fault claim usually reduces your No Claims Discount and can raise your premium, but a non-fault claim should not affect your NCD, even though it can still appear on a shared claims database that future insurers see. Last reviewed July 2026 |
| CAR INSURANCE : DOES A CLAIM RAISE YOUR PRICE |
Whether a claim increases your premium depends heavily on whether it was recorded as a fault or non-fault claim. A fault claim typically reduces your No Claims Discount and increases your renewal price, while a genuine non-fault claim, where liability was accepted by the other party, should not reduce your NCD, though it can still be visible to future insurers through a shared claims database.
KEY FACTS
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Why fault status is the single biggest factor
The most important distinction in how a claim affects your premium is whether it was recorded as a fault or non-fault claim. A fault claim, where you were found responsible or partially responsible for the incident, typically reduces your No Claims Discount by a set number of years, which in turn increases your premium since the discount you had built up is partly or fully reset.
A non-fault claim, where the other party's insurer accepted liability, is treated differently. Provided liability was clearly established as belonging to the other driver, your own No Claims Discount should not be reduced, since you were not responsible for causing the incident that led to the claim.
Why a non-fault claim can still show up later
Even though a non-fault claim should not reduce your NCD, the claim itself is still recorded on the Claims and Underwriting Exchange, a shared database that UK insurers use to check an applicant's claims history when quoting for a new policy. This means a future insurer can see that a claim occurred, even though your NCD was unaffected by it.
Some insurers factor the existence of any claim, fault or non-fault, into their pricing model to some degree, on the basis that having been involved in an incident at all is a data point in their risk assessment, even where blame clearly rests elsewhere. This is why some drivers with a spotless NCD record still see a modest increase after a non-fault claim, despite having done nothing wrong.
What Protected No Claims Discount actually covers
Protected No Claims Discount, usually bought as an add-on for an additional premium, allows you to make a limited number of fault claims within a set period, commonly one or two claims in five years, without your NCD step count being reduced at renewal. It is a genuinely useful product for a driver who wants to preserve their years of accumulated discount.
| What Protected NCD does | What Protected NCD does not do |
| Preserves your NCD step count after a limited number of fault claims | Stop your premium from rising due to the claim itself being on record |
| Applies within the specific insurer's defined limits, such as claims per period | Protect an unlimited number of claims regardless of frequency |
| Keeps your discount visible on renewal documents | Prevent the claim appearing on the shared claims database |
This distinction, between protecting the NCD figure itself and protecting the actual price you pay, is widely misunderstood, and is worth understanding clearly before assuming Protected NCD means a claim will have no financial effect at all.
Why shopping around after a claim is worth doing
Because insurers do not all weigh claims history identically, the same claim can produce a larger increase at one insurer than another, since each provider uses its own underwriting model and risk appetite. A renewal quote reflecting a large increase from your existing insurer following a claim is not necessarily representative of what the wider market would charge for the same history.
Getting quotes from several providers after a claim, rather than assuming the increased renewal price from your current insurer is unavoidable, is a reasonable and often financially worthwhile step, since a different insurer's model may weigh the specific type and circumstances of your claim less heavily.
Why the type of incident matters, not just fault or non-fault
Beyond the basic fault or non-fault distinction, insurers also consider the specific circumstances of a claim when pricing future risk, including whether it involved a collision, theft, fire, weather damage, or vandalism, since these different claim types carry different statistical associations with future claims risk in an insurer's data.
This means two claims of similar cost but different types, for example a weather-related windscreen claim versus a fault collision claim, can have quite different effects on a future premium, even where both are technically recorded as a single claim on your history.
What to do if you believe your claim was wrongly recorded as fault
If you believe a claim was incorrectly recorded as a fault claim when you were not actually responsible, or when liability was disputed and later resolved in your favour, contacting your insurer directly to query the fault status recorded against your policy is a reasonable first step, since this classification directly affects your NCD and future premiums.
If the insurer will not correct a classification you believe is wrong, raising a formal complaint, and escalating to the Financial Ombudsman Service if unresolved, is available, since the fault classification of a claim is a factual matter that can be reviewed independently if you disagree with how it was recorded.
Why keeping a simple record of any incident helps later
Whether or not a claim is ultimately made, keeping your own written record of any incident, including the date, what happened, and any correspondence about fault, gives you something concrete to refer back to if a dispute about the fault classification arises months or years later, particularly if the incident is only queried when you come to renew or switch insurer.
Why the size of a claim also plays a role
Beyond fault status and claim type, the actual cost of a claim to the insurer is itself a factor in how much a future premium is affected, since a large claim settlement represents a bigger signal of potential future risk to an insurer's model than a small one, even within the same broad category of fault or non-fault. This is one reason two seemingly similar incidents, one resulting in a minor repair and one resulting in a total write-off, can affect a subsequent renewal quote quite differently, even where both are classified the same way for fault purposes.
Why a claim from several years ago can still matter
Most insurers look back a set number of years, commonly around five, when assessing claims history for a new quote, meaning an older claim can continue to influence pricing for longer than many drivers expect, even after their No Claims Discount has fully rebuilt. Checking how far back a specific insurer looks, rather than assuming an old claim has stopped mattering once your NCD has recovered, gives a more accurate picture of when its effect on pricing genuinely fades.
| Note: How individual insurers weigh claims history in pricing is proprietary and can change. The general principles here apply broadly, but your specific renewal outcome depends on your insurer's own model. |
| RELATED GUIDES |
| Disclaimer: Kael Tripton Ltd is an independent editorial publisher, ICO-registered (ZC135439). This guide is general information, not insurance, financial or legal advice, and carries no commission or referral arrangement. Your specific policy wording always takes precedence; check it directly, or ask your insurer, before relying on general guidance. Figures and rules change; verify current details with the primary sources listed below. |
Frequently asked questions
Does a non-fault claim affect my no claims discount?
It should not, provided liability was clearly established as belonging to the other party, though it can still appear on the shared claims database that future insurers check.
What does Protected No Claims Discount actually protect?
It preserves your NCD step count after a limited number of fault claims within a set period. It does not stop the claim itself from potentially increasing your premium.
Will every insurer increase my price by the same amount after a claim?
No. Insurers weigh claims history differently, so getting quotes from several providers after a claim can produce meaningfully different results.
What can I do if I disagree with how my claim was classified?
Contact your insurer to query the classification. If unresolved, you can raise a formal complaint and escalate to the Financial Ombudsman Service.
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