You may be interested in something that I did not until now realize, and I suspect most people are not aware of, in connection with the extra insurance that they can take out on their motor policies for 'No Claims Discount Protection' (or NCD Guarantee, as LV calls it). The purpose of most insurances (and this includes car insurance) is to put you back in the same position after a claim as you were before, no better off and no worse off. I thought, until now, that this also was the case when you paid extra for NCD Guarantee, i.e. that on renewal, because this when it applies, you would be in the same position as if you had not made a claim (or, indeed, notified an incident - even if you do not pursue a claim).

I now find that Nationwide/LV (and perhaps other insurers) have no intention of doing this and that, in insurance terms, NCD Guarantee/Protection insurance is probably unique in that, firstly, you are not restored to your pre-claim position, secondly, you have no idea of the value of what you are paying the premium for and, thirdly, the value you receive will be arbitrarily decided by the insurers. There is a small paragraph in the Nationwide/LV booklet, in the section on Guaranteed NCD, which says that premium may still be increased following a claim and which we did not note originally. The company say that what they are guaranteeing is the number of years' NCD and not future premium. Are they being honest, John? I don't think so.