8 MAY 2025 
10 MIN READ
Understanding No Claims Discounts
No claims discounts, NCD, mirrored NCD, mirror bonus - with so many terms to remember, it's understandable that some people can be confused. In this guide, we'll explain the difference between these two types of discounts and why both are a benefit to our Van Insurance customers.
With so many terms to remember, it’s understandable that some people can be confused. In this guide, we’ll explain the difference between these two types of discounts and why both are a benefit to our Van Insurance customers.
At AXA, we think safe drivers deserve to be rewarded, which is why we honour your no claims discount when you take Van Insurance with us. You may also be eligible to benefit from something called a ‘mirrored no claims discount’. These two things are slightly different, but not to worry, this guide will tell you all you need to know about these discounts.
First off, what is a no claims discount (NCD)?
If you’ve not made any claims in the last year then you can qualify for what is known as a no claims discount, or an NCD. This discount can grow over a period of time and will be included in your premium every year that you don’t make any claims.
Essentially, this is a discount on the cost of your van insurance to reward safe and accident-free driving.
How does a no claims discount work?
For every consecutive year that you don’t make a claim on your insurance your NCD will increase until it reaches the maximum possible discount. Meaning the longer you go without claiming, the larger your discount will be.
There are a few other things to bear in mind when it comes to no claims discount:
Specific rules regarding NCD and how it operates can vary from insurer to insurer. Everything we talk about here is only correct for AXA Van Insurance
‘Claims’ doesn’t just mean a claim you make - if someone else makes a claim against you, you could lose all or part of your discount since your insurer has had to make a payment
Your NCD can’t be transferred to another person, or removed from a vehicle you are still using and transferred to another to gain an advantage over premiums
Not every type of motor insurance policy earns an NCD, and we are only able to transfer in an NCD which has been earned from a previous car or van policy that was set up in your own name as the policyholder
Is there a maximum number of years NCD I can have?
Though your NCD builds up over time, insurers will have a limit to the number of years of discount you can earn. This limit can vary with different insurers, but with AXA Van Insurance you can build up to a maximum of 9 years NCD.
If your previous insurer had an NCD scale that went beyond this, when taking out a policy with AXA we’ll still give you our maximum discount even though we’ll only be able to show 9 or more years NCD on your documents.
Will making a claim mean that I lose my NCD?
Making a claim on your policy doesn’t always mean automatically losing all of your hard-earned NCD. This will depend on how many years NCD you have already built up, what type of claim you are making, and whether or not you have previously included NCD protection on your policy.
Full details of the effect making a claim will have on your NCD are shown in Section 12 of the policy wording.
Will I keep my No Claims Discount if I don’t have a van for a while?
If there comes a period where you no longer have a van, then you’ll not need insurance - but what happens to your NCD during that time?
While you’re not insured, you won’t continue to earn an NCD. However, if you take out a policy with AXA for your new van, we’ll allow you to transfer in NCD from a previous policy in your name that was cancelled up to 2 years ago. We’ll just need you to confirm that the NCD hasn’t already been transferred to any other policy in the meantime.
What counts as proof of my NCD, and where can I get it?
At cancellation, your previous insurer should provide you with a document showing details of any NCD you have earned with them.
This document could be a letter or email, or your most recent renewal schedule, and needs to be on your previous insurer’s own headed paper. It will also need to show:
The other policy was issued in the same name as the policy you are taking out with us
The registration number of vehicle covered by the other policy, and type of policy it was e.g. car insurance, van insurance, motor trade insurance etc
The date your other policy ended
The number of years no claims discount which was available for transfer when the policy ended
How do I provide proof of my NCD to AXA?
If you’re an AXA Van customer, you can email your proof of NCD to us by simply clicking the button below. Make sure to include your new policy number within the header of the email so that we can match it up to your policy as quickly as possible.
Please note: you must provide proof of your NCD within 28 days of your new policy starting for your discount to be validated. If you fail to send it to us by then, your discount will be removed and an additional premium charged, or your policy may be cancelled.
What about an NCD earned abroad?
We will only accept NCD transfer requests from a previous policy which was with a UK-based insurer, and are unable to accept NCD from a vehicle that was insured outside of the UK.
Can I use my NCD on multiple vehicles?
No, you can only use your NCD on one vehicle at a time.
However, if you have more than one van or car and your NCDs are already being used on these, you might qualify for what we call a Mirrored No Claims Discount when you buy another vehicle and insure it with us.
What is a Mirrored NCD?
If you’re unable to transfer an NCD to your new policy (for example, it’s already being used on another van or car that you own), then we may still be able to offer you a discount on your premium to recognise your claims free driving history. We’ll ask you for details about the no claims discount you are earning on this other policy, and if it’s acceptable to us the discount we offer you is called a Mirror No Claims Discount.
This won’t have any effect on your other policy as we are not transferring the NCD from it.
Unlike normal NCD, Mirror NCD doesn’t increase each year and will be completely lost at renewal if you make a claim on your policy. Also, it can’t be transferred to another policy if your policy with us is cancelled. However, you will still continue to earn a normal NCD alongside your Mirror NCD for any years that you insure your van with us without making a claim.
You may be able to qualify for a Mirror NCD if:
- You, and all drivers on the policy, have had no ‘at fault’ claims in the last 3 years
- The van you want to insure with us is newly purchased and has not been insured by you previously
- You are currently earning an NCD on another car or van that you own and are insuring in your own name
We’ll let you know if a Mirror NCD has been included in your premium so that you can send us details of this other insurance policy to validate the discount.
Acceptable proof for Mirror NCD is almost the same as what we need for normal NCD, with the main difference being that we need to see the other policy is still in force. A copy of your current policy schedule is usually all we need.
The document needs to be on your current insurers headed paper and include the following information:
- The other policy is issued in your name
- Is for a car or van
- Is still in force
- How many years NCD are currently being earned on the other policy
As with you normal NCD, you have 28 days to provide us with proof for a mirrored NCD so that we can validate it. If you fail to send this to us by then, your discount will be removed and an additional premium charged, or your policy may be cancelled.
No, you can only mirror an NCD from another policy which has been set up in your own name.
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