Is it worth paying to protect your no-claims discount? Car enthusiast Oliver Chesher, 36, is a firm believer in protecting a NCD. The PR agency director from Cheshire says: "I've had a protected no claims bonus for more than 15 years because I learned my lesson with one or two minor scrapes when I was a teenager and have been ultra-careful ever since. I now drive a very fast Alfa Romeo and I dread to think what the going rate to insure it would be if I didn't have the full no claims. The protection hasn't saved me money, it's cost me money, but I'll never stop the protection. But having a protected NCD doesn't make drivers invincible as George Brown, an accountant from Leamington Spa, recently discovered. Last September he made his first claim when something fell from a lorry and hit his car. Four months later, he drove into the back of a stationary car - his fault and his second claim. Then in March this year he hit a deer on a country road. "It was my third claim in quick succession," says George, 31. My next quote for insurance has increased from £600 to £1,100 per year. I've paid an extra £200 to have my no claims bonus protected over five years. This was not only to no avail but my next premium will increase by £500 and will continue to be high for years to come. As two of the incidents were no fault of my own, I would like to see a bit more leeway from the insurance companies on only two claims allowed in three years. So is it worth it? It's difficult to get an answer to this because all insurers are different - as are drivers' circumstances. Peter Harrison says that for, say, a driver with 20 years no claims who hasn't had an accident, it's definitely worth protecting it. But for most drivers it's more complicated. If you're still mystified, you're not alone. The Daily Telegraph's Honest John says: "I remain completely unable to understand what a 'protected no claims discount' actually is. As far as I can gather, most readers involved in claims seem to have been penalised with increased premiums the next year, whether the claim was their fault or not and whether they had 'NCD protection' or not. What 'NCD protection' now is has never been satisfactorily explained to me, which is why I cannot satisfactorily explain it to baffled and furious readers. If you're considering NCD protection, the advice is to shop around. And when getting insurance quotes, do one search with the extra cover and one without and then study the price differential. Also, read the small print. If you make a claim, many insurers adopt a sliding scale when reducing a NCD - although again this depends on the company. "Finally, motorists should remember it's the discount they're paying to protect, not the amount of the actual insurance premium," says Harrison. If you do make a claim, it's likely premiums will rise as a result anyway. But it will protect you more than if you had nothing at all.