How can I calculate claim-free years?
The claim-free years in auto insurance is not always easy to calculate. Most policies only show the bonus-malus step a person is on or the amount of discount. The number of claim-free years is often not mentioned. So how do you calculate the number of claim-free years on a policy?
Calculating claim-free years can be done in two different ways:
- You can call your insurance company or agent. They have access to accrued claim-free years.
- Calculating your own claim-free years.
Calculating your claim-free years yourself is tricky. You need to know on which bonus-malus step you started. This is because companies calculate the claim-free years in the following way:
The step the policy is on now minus the step you started on: those are your claim-free years. These can be positive or negative. If they are positive, we speak of bonus. If the years are negative, we speak of malus.
How do I calculate claim-free years?
Calculating claim-free years can be done in two ways, namely: you can call your insurer or intermediary or you can calculate your claim-free years yourself.
As long as you do not claim any damage, you will receive one claim-free year from the time a car insurance policy is in your name. If you do claim, then calculating the claim-free years is more difficult.
Insurers calculate claim-free years using a table called the bonus malus ladder. Using this table, you can calculate how much discount you will receive on your premium. The more claim-free years you have, the higher you are on the ladder and the more no claim discount you receive. Each insurer has its own bonus malus scheme. As a result, there may be differences in discount between different insurers. The bonus-malus scheme of your insurer can be found in the policy conditions.
How do I calculate my claim-free years?
To calculate your claim-free years yourself, you need to know what step you started on. The step the policy is currently on minus the step you started on is your claim-free years at this time. Your claim-free years can be positive or negative. If they are positive, we speak of bonus. If they are negative, we speak of malus.
Suppose your policy is now at step 12 and you started at step 7 then it is calculated by doing 12 minus 7. The number of claim-free years you have is then 12-7= 5.
You may have negative claim-free years. These can occur when you have had a claim that affected your bonus-malus discount. This causes you to fall down 5 steps. You may then be on a lower step than where you started, as shown in the following example. Suppose you started on step 7 and you are now on step 6; 6-7=-1.
Sample Bonus Malus ladder: calculating claim-free years
| Bonus malus step | Discount Rate | 0 damage | 1 damage | 2 damages | 3 or more damages |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 | 70% | 14 | 10 | 6 | 2 |
| 13 | 70% | 14 | 9 | 5 | 1 |
| 12 | 70% | 13 | 8 | 4 | 0 |
| 11 | 70% | 12 | 7 | 3 | -1 |
| 10 | 70% | 11 | 6 | 2 | -2 |
| 9 | 65% | 10 | 5 | 1 | -3 |
| 8 | 60% | 9 | 4 | 0 | -4 |
| 7 | 55% | 8 | 3 | -1 | -5 |
| 6 | 50% | 7 | 2 | -2 | -5 |
| 5 | 45% | 6 | 1 | -3 | -5 |
| 4 | 30% | 5 | 0 | -4 | -5 |
| 3 | 20% | 4 | -1 | -5 | -5 |
| 2 | 20% | 3 | -2 | -5 | -5 |
| 1 | 15% | 2 | -3 | -5 | -5 |
| 0 | 5% | 1 | -5 | -5 | -5 |
| -1 | 0% | 0 | -5 | -5 | -5 |
| -2 | -10% | -1 | -5 | -5 | -5 |
| -3 | -20% | -2 | -5 | -5 | -5 |
| -4 | -30% | -3 | -5 | -5 | -5 |
| -5 | -40% | -4 | -5 | -5 | -5 |
How do you calculate the number of claim-free years?
To calculate your claim-free years, you need to know on which step of the bonus malus ladder you started and what your current step is. Do you want to claim a damage with the insurer? Then first calculate how claiming the damage will affect your claim-free years and no-claim discount. You then calculate how much more premium you will pay after claiming the damage. Contrast this with the cost of repairing the damage. What is more favorable over the next 5 years? After all, it takes 5 years to get back to your current rung on the ladder.
How do you calculate bonus malus?
Using the bonus malus ladder, you can calculate your claim-free years. The bonus malus ladder can be found in the policy conditions of your car insurance. With this you can calculate your bonus malus discount. For this you need your claim-free years and the basic insurance premium. Suppose you are on step 8 of the above bonus malus ladder. You will receive a 60% discount on your premium. If the premium is €100 per month, you will receive a discount of €60. So per month you will pay €40 in insurance premium for your car insurance. If you claim a damage, you will lose 5 claim-free years. You will end up on step 3 and only get a 20% discount. In that case you will pay €80 premium per month. So you can calculate your no-claim discount.
Claim-free years in Roy Data
As of September 1, 2007, insurance companies switched to digitally storing the number of claim-free years accrued by customers. Roy-Data is the name of the cancellation data system for the insurance market. All cancellation data with a cancellation date from September 1, 2007 are included in the system. Anyone can request his/her claim-free years recorded in Roy-data.
Claim-free years transferable since 1-1-2022
Since Jan. 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. You can read more about this new regulation in our blog post.
Do you have any questions? If so, please contact us. We are happy to help you! We can be reached Monday through Friday between 08:00 and 18:00 at telephone number 088-6883700.
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