Can you accrue no claim through your parents?
You build up no-claims when you have a car insurance policy in your name. This is because with a car insurance in your name, you get claim-free years. Claim-free years are years in which you do not claim any damages from the insurer, hence 'no claim'. The more claim-free years you have, the more no-claim discount you get. When the car insurance is not in your name, you do not build up any no-claim years, even if you drive the car regularly. This is often the case with children. If you use your parents' car regularly, you unfortunately do not build up any claim-free years and no-claims. As a result, you will not receive a premium discount when you take out your own car insurance. In this article we explain how this works.
Accruing no claim discount through parents
With a few insurers, such as ANWB, it is possible to be credited as a child on the parents' policy. This is possible for children between the ages of 17 and 26. In this way they already build up no-claims discount, which they can then use to buy their own car insurance. However, these are not claim-free years. This means that the no-claim discount only applies if the car insurance is taken out with the same insurer. If the child wants to take out car insurance somewhere else, the discount will expire.
More expensive car insurance for young people
Car insurance is a lot more expensive for young people up to age 24 than for older drivers. Analysis has shown that young drivers make more frequent claims than more experienced drivers. Because of this, insurers see young people as a greater risk and therefore charge a significantly higher premium for car insurance. Also, young people have few or no claim-free years. Therefore they get less no-claim discount on the basic premium. This may make taking out car insurance in your parents' name seem financially attractive. Yet this is not wise, as there are a number of disadvantages.
Claim-free years transferable since 1-1-2022, but not yet to children
A major disadvantage of having car insurance in your parents' name is that you yourself do not accrue any claim-free years. Only the person in whose name the car insurance is registered builds up claim-free years. Today, it is not yet possible to transfer claim-free years to children, even if they are listed as a regular driver on the policy.
However, since January 1, 2022, claim-free years are transferable in some situations. Upon death, for example, they can be transferred to the surviving partner. Also for lease drivers and drivers who have lived abroad for years, it is now possible to transfer claim-free years. This way they do not lose their accumulated claim-free years. In the case of children, however, it is not yet possible to transfer claim-free years. There is a desire from several quarters to make damage-free years transferable to children, to help young drivers on their way. Anno 2022, however, this is not yet possible.
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