How many claim-free years will I lose?
Did you cause an accident or damage to your car? 1 claim costs 5 claim-free years. You only lose damage-free years if you report the damage to the insurer. This happens not only for damage to your own car, but also to that of another driver.
1 claim costs 5 claim-free years
You will lose claim-free years if you claim damage with your car insurance. You also lose loss-free years if you claim a damage where the perpetrator is unknown such as vandalism.
One claim costs you 5 claim-free years. So after a drop in claim-free years, it takes 5 years before you get back to the same number of years.
Have you accumulated more than 15 claim-free years? Then you always go back to 10 claim-free years after a claim.
These damages do not count
You do not always lose your claim-free years with every claim. Damages that fall under the limited liability part of your car insurance do not cost you any claim-free years. Think for example of fire damage, glass breakage, hail damage, storm damage or an collision with stray animals.
If the damage is not your fault, but that of the other party, you can claim the damage there. In that case, too, you won't lose any claim-free years.
Consequences of losing claim-free years
Losing claim-free years has a number of consequences. The premium of a car insurance policy is calculated partly on the basis of your accumulated claim-free years.
These are the consequences of losing claim-free years:
Higher premium after relapse
Do you lose claim-free years? Then you go down on the the bonus malus ladder. Insurers use this ladder to determine how much no-claim discount you get on your car insurance. The higher you are on the ladder, the more no-claim discount you get.
If you immediately lose 5 claim-free years, your premium can increase significantly. Do you still have few claim-free years or do you quickly claim several claims in a row? Then you can even get negative claim-free years. This means that you no longer receive a discount on your premium, but instead have to pay extra.
Negative claim-free years on the bonus malus ladder
You can also have have negative claim-free years years. The bonus-malus ladder does not stop at 0, but can also become negative. Therefore, if you have not yet accumulated many claim-free years or if you make multiple claims in a short period of time, you can have negative claim-free years.
This is called a malus registration. If you have negative claim-free years, you no longer get a discount on your premium, but instead have to pay extra. This is a premium surcharge. This can be annoying, because not every insurer will accept an application if you have a malus registration.
Claim damage after accident or pay for it yourself
Sometimes it is cheaper not to report a small damage to your car insurance company. This is because for every damage you claim, you lose 5 claim-free years, no matter how big the damage is or how much it cost.
For small claims with a low amount, it is sometimes cheaper to pay for the damage yourself. Often the premium you have to pay extra after claiming is higher than the damage amount of a small claim.
If you pay the cost of the damage yourself, it will not affect your claim-free years and no-claim discount.
Accruing claim-free years
If you have a car insurance policy in your name, you build up claim-free years. For every year that you do not claim any damage with the insurer, you get 1 claim-free year. The more claim-free years you have, the cheaper your car insurance through the no-claims discount. In this way, the insurer rewards you for damage-free driving.
Rebuilding lost claim-free years takes a lot of time. For every claim you make, you lose 5 claim-free years. You receive only 1 claim-free year in return.
Calculation example 6 claim-free years
Suppose you have accumulated 6 claim-free years. You claim 1 damage with your insurer. These are the consequences:
You lose 5 claim-free years.
You are left with 1 claim-free year after the claim (6 - 5 = 1).
From then on, you build up another 1 claim-free year each year you drive claim-free. So it takes 5 years without claims to get back to your old number of 6 claim-free years.
Less than 5 claim-free years
Have you accumulated less than 5 claim-free years and claim damage? Then you will be in the minus, for example from 2 to -3 claim-free years. This can result in a higher premium and sometimes even problems when taking out new insurance.
Claim-free years expire after 3 years
Claim-free years have an expiration date. If your claim-free years are no longer associated with an auto insurance policy, they may expire. This does not happen immediately but only after 3 years.
Do you cancel your car insurance and don't take out a new insurance policy within 3 years using the claim-free years? Then you lose them.
Transferring claim-free years to your partner
Claim-free years are personal. You only accrue them if the car insurance is in your name. Your partner or child does not accrue any claim-free years, even if they drive often or are a regular driver on the policy.
In some situations, you can transfer years to your partnerin the event of divorce or death, for example. You cannot use transferred claim-free years yourself. You can never transfer them to children.
Requesting claim-free years
Want to know how many claim-free years you have? You can usually find the number of claim-free years on the policy document of your car insurance or in the online environment of your insurer.
Have you recently switched insurers or don't have a current policy to hand? Then you can also request your claim-free years via Roy-data, the central database in which all insurers register claim-free years.
Frequently asked questions about losing claim-free years
What happens if I claim multiple claims per year?
Each time you claim, you lose 5 claim-free years. So if you claim multiple damages in one insurance year, you lose 5 claim-free years per claim.
As a result, you can quickly end up with a negative number of claim-free years. This makes for a higher premium and can make it more difficult to be accepted with other insurers.
Can I transfer claim-free years to another insurer?
Yes, claim-free years are personal and you can take them with you if you move to another insurer. Your new insurer will check the number of claim-free years in Roy-data. When taking out a new insurance policy, provide the correct number of claim-free years.
What if the damage was not my fault?
Is it clear that someone else caused the damage and you can recover it from that person? Then you will not lose any claim-free years. Is the culprit unknown, for example in case of vandalism? Then you usually do lose claim-free years.
How can I check my claim-free years?
You can find the number of claim-free years on the policy document of your car insurance or in the online environment of your insurer. You can also request them via Roy-data, the central database in which all insurers keep track of claim-free years.
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