Anyone who gets divorced and shared a car with his or her partner during the relationship can be faced with an expensive surprise. The premium of a new car insurance policy can rise by hundreds of euros per year because no-claims years are lost, says comparison site Independer. Although it doesn’t have to turn out as bad as it did a few years ago.
Before 1 January 2022, the accrued claim-free years only went to the ex-partner whose name the car insurance was in. The other partner was left behind. That’s different now. “In the event of a divorce or a dissolution of the registered partnership, the savings and household effects can be neatly divided,” says Menno Dijcks, car insurance expert at Independer. “Since January 1, 2022, this also applies to the distribution of the claim-free years. These are the key to premium discounts on car insurance.
Still, according to Dijcks, you have to stay sharp if the car is not registered in your name, but that of your partner. “The policyholder with the claim-free years determines what the distribution key will be and must submit a waiver to the insurer. If that doesn’t go well, you can be quite shocked when you take out car insurance yourself.
“The annual premium for a new car can be hundreds of euros higher,” says Menno Dijcks. “Every year that you drive without damage, you get an additional year without damage from the insurer. And the more you accrue, the more premium discount you get. And vice versa: if you drive a claim and the insurer has to pay out, you lose five claim-free years and your car insurance will therefore become more expensive. After years of claim-free driving, the discount can be up to 80 percent of the original premium.
Difference up to 800 euros per year
As an example, Dijcks cites an Amsterdam couple who share an Opel Corsa and have built up twenty claim-free years. “They pay about 30 euros per month for third-party car insurance. If this couple divorces and the claim-free years are not divided, the ex-partner will now suddenly pay 76 euros in insurance premiums per month for the exact same Opel Corsa. A difference of more than 500 euros on an annual basis. If this couple has an all-risk insurance policy, the difference can even amount to 800 euros per year.”
More information about claim-free years and the table that shows how much premium discount you get for a certain number of claim-free years (the bonus-malus ladder) can be found here.
Free unlimited access to Showbytes? Which can!
Log in or create an account and don’t miss a thing of the stars.