How to check your car insurance claim history

Your current insurer should be able to provide you with all information related to your claim history, even if you’ve switched companies over the years. Simply get in touch with them and ask for a report.

You can also contact CUE, the Claims and Underwriting Exchange. It’s a database which holds millions of records relating to insurance and reported incidents, dating back about six years. Whether you were at fault or not, any reported claim will be logged with CUE.

Checking your no claims discount (NCD) status is slightly different, as all of your records will be stored by the Motor Insurers Bureau (MIB) and can be accessed by yourself and insurers at any time. Visit our guide for more details on how to best utilise your no claims discount.

In This Guide:

• Why should I check my car’s claim history?
• How to check your vehicle’s history

Why should I check my car’s claim history?

It’ll come as no surprise that such an extensive database as CUE is also a powerful resource for insurance companies. In fact, this is how they assess your risk as a driver, as they too can check your vehicle insurance history.

This is why you must be totally honest when you take out a policy, as any information you supply can be verified by your insurer. If you’re dishonest, your application may be rejected or, if you’ve already taken out a policy, you could find it becomes invalid.

It’s also useful to know how your claim history affects the cost of your car insurance. A driver with a track record of claiming will face much higher premiums than those with a clean slate. With that information, you can know what to expect when looking for a quote and consider other ways to bring your car insurance premium down, such as choosing a less powerful vehicle.

How to check your vehicle’s history

A car’s history goes beyond just your time as the owner. When buying a used vehicle, you’ll want to know whether it has been involved in any incidents previously, as these could impact its safety and performance. Where scrapes and dents are obvious, internal damage is tough to spot – even some written-off vehicles are rehashed and sold on.

A reputable seller will be able to give you a full, documented breakdown of the vehicle’s accident history and the original handbook to match. In the absence of these, with a little information you should be able to find the vehicle’s history on the DVLA website. Or further still, contact the Motor Ombudsman to source a reputable company to carry out an independent report on the vehicle.