Legal Guide

Will My Premium Rise After a Non-Fault Claim?

4 min readUpdated May 2024

Reviewed by McAMS, regulated motorcycle accident specialists

It is the ultimate insult. You get wiped out by a bad driver. Your bike is ruined. You do everything by the book, and then next year, your insurance company hikes your premium anyway. We believe in being straight with you. Here is how insurance companies treat non-fault claims, and how using independent specialists can help protect your wallet.

How insurers price risk

Let's be clear: a non-fault claim can still increase your premium. Insurance companies use risk-based pricing models to calculate premiums. Their data suggests that a rider who has been in one non-fault crash may be statistically more likely to be involved in another incident. Because you are deemed a fractionally higher risk, the price can rise. It can feel unfair, but it is entirely legal.

Protecting your No Claims Discount (NCD)

There is a silver lining. If the claim is settled fully in your favour and your insurer recovers all their costs from the at-fault driver's insurance, your No Claims Discount usually remains intact. However, the base premium that the discount is applied to might still go up. If the claim is still ongoing when your renewal date hits, they might temporarily suspend your NCD until the case is closed.

Why claiming through a specialist beats your insurer

If you claim directly through your own insurance, you usually have to pay your policy excess upfront (often several hundred pounds). You only get it back later if they recover their costs. If you use the independent specialists we connect you with, you can bypass your insurer for the repairs. The specialist pursues the money directly from the at-fault driver, so in many cases you do not pay your excess and are not left out of pocket.

You must declare it anyway

Some riders think, "I just won't tell my insurer to keep my premium down." Do not do this. It is insurance fraud. Your policy legally requires you to declare all accidents, regardless of fault. If you hide it and they find out via the central claims database, they will cancel your policy. A cancelled policy makes it almost impossible to get insured again.

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Common questions

Questions riders ask

Answers to common queries regarding the claims process.

It varies widely between insurers. Some add only a little, others much more, and many factors feed into the price. The best approach is to shop around using comparison sites at renewal time rather than auto-renewing after an accident.

Usually, yes, if you claim comprehensively through your own policy, because your insurer cannot recover the costs. However, if your solicitor pursues the claim via the MIB, you can protect your NCD.

No. The accident is logged on your file either way. If you were injured, it is worth claiming the compensation you may be owed. Choosing not to claim will not stop your premium changing at renewal.

This guide is general information about motorcycle accident claims in the UK. It is not legal or financial advice. Bike Crash Claims is an introducer: we connect riders with regulated specialist solicitors and motorcycle accident specialists, and we are not solicitors ourselves. Whether you can claim, and what any claim may be worth, always depends on your individual circumstances, and nothing here is a guarantee of any outcome or amount. For advice on your own situation, please speak to a regulated specialist.

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