In this article
- What is No Claim Bonus
- How the discount scales
- NCB is tied to you, not your car
- Protecting your NCB
- Should you avoid small claims
What is No Claim Bonus
No Claim Bonus (NCB) is a discount on your own-damage premium for every consecutive year you don't make a claim. It rewards low-risk driving behaviour and can meaningfully reduce your renewal cost over time.
How the discount scales
NCB typically starts at 20% after your first claim-free year and increases in slabs — commonly reaching 25%, 35%, 45%, and up to 50% by the fifth consecutive claim-free year, though exact slabs vary by insurer. This discount applies to the own-damage portion of your premium, not the mandatory third-party component.
NCB is tied to you, not your car
A common misconception is that NCB belongs to the vehicle. In fact, it belongs to the policyholder and is transferable — if you sell your car and buy a new one, you can carry your accumulated NCB to the new policy, provided you obtain an NCB retention certificate from your previous insurer.
Protecting your NCB
An NCB protection add-on lets you make a limited number of claims in a policy year (usually one) without losing your accumulated discount at renewal. This is particularly valuable once you've built up to a higher NCB tier, where the potential loss from resetting to zero is significant.
Should you avoid small claims
For minor damage where the repair cost is close to or below what you'd lose in increased premiums from resetting your NCB, it's often financially smarter to pay out of pocket and preserve your discount — run the numbers before filing a claim for small dents or scratches.
