Can you build up claim-free years through parents?
If you have car insurance in your name, you automatically build up claim-free years. Claims-free years are years in which you do not claim any damages from your insurer. Having claim-free years therefore affects the premium of your car insurance. The more claim-free years you have, the more premium discount you get. But what about when you regularly drive a car, but the car insurance is not in your name? This is often the case with children. They regularly drive their parents' car, but the car insurance is not in their own name. In this situation you do not build up any claim-free years. This means you are not entitled to a discount when you take out your own car insurance. In this article on Alpina.nl we would like to tell you more.
Car insurance in name of parents
Taking out a car insurance in the name of one's parents seems financially attractive. Young people between 18 and 25 years pay a lot more for their car insurance than older drivers. This is because they see young drivers of that age as an increased risk. Analysis shows that young drivers around that age are more likely to cause damage than more experienced drivers. Therefore, insurers charge a higher premium for car insurance. Another reason is that young people have no or fewer claim-free years. Therefore they get less discount on the premium. Still, it is not wise to take out a car insurance in the name of your parents. There are a number of disadvantages to doing so.
Accumulating claim-free years through parents is not possible
A big disadvantage of having a car insurance in the name of your parents is that you do not build up any claim-free years yourself. Only the person in whose name the car insurance is held accrues claim-free years. Nowadays it is not yet possible to transfer claim-free years to children, even when they are mentioned as regular drivers on the policy. There is a desire from many quarters to make claim-free years transferable to children in order to help young drivers on their way. However, this is not yet possible in 2021.
Car insurance without claim-free years
No claim-free years yet? This does not mean that you will not receive a discount on your car insurance. The insurer will determine the step on the bonus malus ladder on which you start. If you have no claim-free years, an insurer often looks at your age to classify you on the ladder. With a lot of insurers you start without claim-free years on step 6 or 7, depending on your age. However, this can differ per insurer. The height of the premium discount can also differ per insurer. You can find the bonus malus ladder of your insurer in the policy conditions of your car insurance.
Claim-free years transferable since 1-1-2022
Since 1 January 2022, claim-free years are transferable in certain situations. In case of 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 the claim-free years. This way, they do not lose their accumulated claim-free years. In our blogpost you can read more about this new regulation.
Related pages about claim-free years
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