Claim-free years with motorhome insurance

Accruing claim-free years

By taking out RV insurance in your name and driving claim-free, you build up claim-free years. Damage-free years entitle you to a discount on the motor home insurance. How much discount you get for one additional claim-free year varies by insurer. Actually, the insurer rewards you for your driving behavior. At, for example, 10 or 15 claim-free years, you have reached the maximum discount.

How do you lose claim-free years?

By claiming on your RV insurance policy, you again lose claim-free years. One claim can cost you five claim-free years. Fewer claim-free years can cause the premium to rise sharply in the following policy year. You do not lose your accrued years with all claims. Damages that are insured in the WA limited casco, are not at the expense of the claim-free years. These include windshield damage, storm and hail damage and theft of the motorhome. In case of damage caused by a collision or vandalism, the claim on the insurance will be at the expense of your claim-free years.

Claim-free years in Roy-data

The accrued claim-free years are fixed in the motorhome insurance policy. When terminating the insurance, the accrued claim-free years are released. The insurer records them in Roy-data. This is a central database in which insurers can look and in which they record accrued years. When applying for a new motor home insurance, insurers can consult Roy-data, but this is not possible when switching policies. This is because the years are still fixed in the current insurance. In that case, you can use the policy to show how many years you have accrued.

Claim-free years accrued abroad

In the Netherlands, insurers can look in the Roy-data system, but your years are not registered there if they were accrued abroad. You can ask the foreign insurer for a statement showing your claim history. A condition, of course, is that the motorhome insurance has already been terminated. How Dutch insurers handle this statement differs per insurer. They can grant you claim-free years, but they can also give you an extra discount. Obviously, the first option is preferable for you. Accrued years can be carried over to the next motorhome insurance policy after the insurance is terminated.

Using claim-free years smartly

Claim-free years are tied up in insurance. In some cases, it may be smart to take them out of a policy and use them in another insurance policy. For example, you have a vintage car with which you have accumulated 10 claim-free years. You have WA insurance for this car at a very low premium. You can take the claim-free years out of this insurance and use them again for the family car for which you take out the more extensive third-party insurance. The advantage is greater when insuring the family car than the vintage car.

Transferring claim-free years to your child

Young people under the age of 24 struggle to find affordable RV insurance. As parents, you might want to transfer some claim-free years to your son or daughter. That won't work. They are transferable between partners, but not to others.

Second car arrangement

When buying a second family car, you start again with zero claim-free years. Therefore, for the insurance of the second car, you will pay a high premium. This can be different if the insurer uses the second car scheme. Then you can get an extra discount on the insurance of the second car. This discount is based on the claim-free years in the first car insurance.

Validity of claim-free years

Claim-free years that are no longer linked to RV insurance are only valid for a limited time. In the past, claim-free years were then only valid for one year. Insurers have realized that this is an unreasonably short period. Claim-free years not linked to insurance are now valid for three years with most insurers.