The bonus-malus scale aims to encourage responsible driving and penalize bad drivers. Although this system is used throughout Europe, each country is free to implement it. How does it work in Luxembourg? Is it possible to use the bonus acquired in another European country? Overview of the bonus-malus system in Luxembourg.
A system based on two distinct scales
The bonus-malus is a European practice that is supposed to encourage responsible driving behavior by increasing the premium for car insurance in case of an at-fault car accident.
In Luxembourg, most insurers have chosen to apply two different scales; it is not uncommon as an insured to have two different bonus-malus levels for different types of claims:
- The Civil Liability bonus-malus scale. It evolves in the event of damage caused to a third party following an at-fault accident. This scale is legal; all insurance companies are subject to the same rules regarding the variation of the bonus-malus degree and the increase of the car insurance premiums.
- The bonus-malus scale for material damage. It evolves according to the damage caused on your own vehicle. There is no legal framework here: each insurance company sets its own rules.
In both cases, we are talking about responsible accidents. Damage caused by weather conditions, a knocked down animal, broken windows, theft or breakdowns do not affect the bonus-malus rate, even if they are covered by the insurer.
A more advantageous system than our neighbors
In Luxembourg, the bonus-malus degree only applies to the guarantee concerned: on the Civil Liability guarantee if it is an accident responsible for a third party, on the Material Damage guarantee if it is a damage caused to your own vehicle.
Simply put, a malus will only increase part of your insurance premium and not all of it, which makes the increases often milder than in our French neighbors for example.
How does the insurance premium change?
The legal liability bonus-malus scale goes from -3 (best bonus) to 22 (biggest malus). 11 is the basic degree assigned to a new driver.
Over the years and with each claim, the premium for civil liability coverage has evolved as follows:
For each at-fault accident, your degree increases by 3 points the following year. Conversely, every year without a claim brings you down 1 degree.
Let’s take the example of a driver starting at 11: after 5 years without an at-fault accident, his grade has increased to 6. Then, in the sixth year, he causes an accident; this brings him up to 9.
Use your bonus acquired abroad
You arrive in Luxembourg and you wonder if it is possible to keep your bonus acquired for so many years abroad? It all depends on your country of origin. The systems are different, but equivalences are possible with France, Belgium, Germany and Portugal.
All you need is a bonus-malus certificate from your previous insurance company.
