Claim-free years expire
Claim-free years usually expire after 3 years. This varies by insurer. If your claim-free years are no longer associated with a car insurance policy, they may expire. Do you cancel a car insurance and do not take out a new insurance policy within this time? Then you lose the claim-free years.
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Validity of claim-free years
Your accrued claim-free years have an expiration period. You will only lose your claim-free years if you have cancelled a car insurance policy and have no car insurance in your name for 3 years. Claims-free years are always linked to a car insurance policy.
Losing claim-free years after damage
You can also lose claim-free years if you make a claim with your insurance company. For every year that you do not claim, you build up 1 claim-free year. Do you claim 1 or more claims in a year? Then you lose 5 claim-free years by default.
If you have more than 15 claim-free years, you always fall back to 10 claim-free years after a claim.
No-claim protection
With some insurers, you can purchase additional insurance for your no-claim discount. This is called the no-claims protector. With this protector, your premium remains the same, even if you have one claim each year. You do lose claim-free years.
Temporarily no car: suspend your car insurance
Damage-free years are therefore not valid indefinitely, but expire when you cancel an insurance policy and do not take out new insurance within 3 years. Are you temporarily without a car? Then you can also choose to temporarily stop your car insurance.
Temporarily stopping car insurance is also called suspending. As it were, you interrupt your car insurance without terminating it. This can be a good option when you are not sure how long you will be without a car.
Consequences of losing claim-free years
If you lose claim-free years, your car insurance will be affected. This is because the premium of a car insurance policy is partly determined by the number of claim-free years you have accumulated. If you have fewer claim-free years, this can affect your insurance premium.
Higher premium
Do you lose claim-free years? Then you sink on the no-claims bonus ladder. Insurers use this ladder to determine how much no-claim discount you get on your car insurance. The higher you are, the more no-claim discount you get. If you lose no-claim years and move down the ladder, you will pay more for your car insurance.
Each insurer has its own bonus malus scheme. You can find your insurer's bonus malus scheme in the policy terms and conditions.
Negative claim-free years
The bonus-malus ladder does not stop at 0, but can also become negative. If you don't have many claim-free years yet or if you claim several claims in a short period of time, you will get negative claim-free years. This is called a malus registration. With negative claim-free years, you will not receive a premium discount, but rather a premium surcharge.
Demonstrating claim-free years
Claim-free years are maintained in Roy Data. This is the central database of the EPS Foundation. When canceling a car insurance policy, the insurer registers your accumulated claim-free years.
If you then take out a new car insurance policy within 3 years, the new insurer can look up your claim-free years in Roy-data and link them to the policy.
Royalties statement
If your claim-free years are not in Roy-data, you can show how many claim-free years you have with a statement from your insurer. Insurers used to issue a statement of cancellation. This statement shows how many claim-free years you have accumulated.
With moped or scooter insurance, sometimes a termination statement is still issued, because not all claim-free years are registered in Roy Data. A statement may also still be relevant in older situations (before 2007).
Lease Statement
Did you drive a leased car? With private and business leases, claim-free years are not transferred to your name. If you later take out your own car insurance, you will not automatically receive a discount. However, you can request a lease statement to show that you have had no damage.
However, you must submit an original lease statement for this purpose. You can request this lease statement from the leasing company.
Getting car insurance without claim-free years
Even if your claim-free years have expired, you can still get car insurance. It differs per insurer on which step of the bonus-malus ladder you then start.
With many insurers you start without claim-free years on step 6 or 7, depending on your age. This varies per insurer, so it is smart to always check the bonus-malus ladder in the policy conditions of your insurer.
Carry over claim-free years
From Jan. 1, 2022, you can transfer claim-free years in some cases. For example, if someone dies, the claim-free years can go to the partner. Also lease drivers and people who have lived abroad for a long time can now transfer claim-free years. In this way, they do not lose their accumulated claim-free years.
Frequently asked questions about expired claim-free years
How long do claim-free years remain valid?
After canceling a car insurance policy, claim-free years remain valid for 3 years with most insurers. If you want to use your claim-free years for a new car insurance policy, you have to take it out within these 3 years. After that, the claim-free years expire and you can no longer use them.
You then start building up claim-free years all over again. This is not beneficial for your premium, because you will then receive no or only a small premium discount when taking out a new car insurance policy.
What does it mean when claim-free years have expired?
If claim-free years have expired, it means you can no longer use them for premium discounts on new insurance. This usually happens when you haven't had car insurance for several years, often after 3 years of inactivity.
How do I prevent my claim-free years from expiring?
To prevent your claim-free years from expiring, it is important to take out car insurance again within three years. If you don't have a car temporarily, consider a temporary suspension or consult with your insurer about options to keep your claim-free years.
How can I get back my expired claim-free years?
Lapsed claim-free years are basically permanent. In some cases, you can try to get an exception with a statement or proof of previous insurance, but this depends on the insurer's policy.
Can you carry claim-free years to a new insurance policy?
Yes, claim-free years can be transferred to a new car insurance policy. Insurers retrieve this information from the central Roy data. Note that if you have been uninsured for too long (usually longer than 3 years), they may be considered expired.
Are claim-free years automatically carried over?
Yes, when you switch insurers, claim-free years are automatically transferred via Roy-data. Just make sure that your current insurance is terminated correctly and the data is registered properly, so that you do not lose any claim-free years.
Do I lose claim-free years when my car is suspended?
When your car is suspended, your claim-free years do not expire immediately, but the three-year validity period remains in effect. So make sure you are reinsured within that period to keep your accumulated years.
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