How does claim-free years carry over with motorcycle insurance?

What to do in the event of death?

Before the new legislation, many insurers were already lenient when it came to claim-free years and death. If the surviving partner was registered at the same address, he or she could usually take over the claim-free years of the deceased. However, insurers were free to decide whether or not to do so. Fortunately, from now on there is an unambiguous policy on this.

What should I do in case of divorce?

If you get divorced, there are probably a lot of assets to divide. Claim-free years can also be divided in such a situation. The partner who has the pure claim-free years in his or her name determines the division key. He or she then declares by means of a waiver that these claim-free years are being relinquished. Claim-free years ceded to an ex-partner can no longer be used themselves. Basically, it works the same as with money: if your partner has 20 euros and gives you 10 euros of it, he will keep 10 euros himself. If he gives you the full amount, he himself has nothing left.

What happens after a lease term?

Have you leased a motorcycle? Then the motorcycle insurance during the lease period is in the name of the leasing company and you have no claim-free years built up in your own name. If you want to take out your own motorcycle insurance after the lease period, it will be a lot more expensive without claim-free years. That is why you can now register pure claim-free years in Roy-data by means of a lease statement and transfer them to your own motorcycle insurance. Previously, insurers still handled the lease statement in different ways. With some insurers, you did not receive any claim-free years but only a premium discount, which left you empty-handed when switching.

Period of time spent abroad?

In the Netherlands, all insurers have access to Roy-data, the central database of Stichting EPS. When you cancel your motorcycle insurance, the insurer registers your accumulated claim-free years. If you subsequently take out a new motorcycle insurance policy, your new insurer will consult the Roy-data database to see how many claim-free years you have. However, foreign insurers do not work with Roy-data. Claim-free years that you have accumulated abroad, for example because you have lived there for a while, are therefore not registered. You must therefore prove these claim-free years with a written statement from the insurer. Since January 1, 2022, your Dutch insurer is obliged to grant these claim-free years.

Can you transfer claim-free years from car insurance to motorcycle insurance (or vice versa)?

As we mentioned earlier, claim-free years are personal, but are accrued per policy. You cannot copy claim-free years. Claim-free years that you have accumulated with a car insurance policy cannot also be used for a motorcycle insurance policy if the car insurance policy is still running. With most insurers, however, it is possible to transfer the claim-free years from your car insurance to your motorcycle insurance. This does mean that you have to terminate your car insurance, because if the insurance is still running, the claim-free years are stuck in this policy. Once you terminate your car insurance, they will be registered in Roy-data. Then your motorcycle insurer can convert the claim-free years and use them for motorcycle insurance.

Conversely, you can also convert claim-free years from a motorcycle insurance policy to a car insurance policy, but only if you stop the motorcycle insurance. If you buy a car in addition to your motorcycle, you will have to start over from accumulating claim-free years for your car.