No years · age band · building up
What does a new driver pay?
This page explains how the rate is arrived at arithmetically: which factors an insurer uses, how the no-claims ladder works and how quickly the premium comes down again.
Deze pagina in het Nederlands: Wat betaalt een beginnend bestuurder?.
The calculator and the quote form below are in Dutch. Prefer to do this in English? Email info@finassverzekert.nl or call 072 - 509 24 56 and we will take it from there.
Work out your own premium with the calculator.
Enter your details; you will receive a proposal within one working day.
- We compare the offerings of several insurers
- An adviser checks whether the cover suits your situation
- We arrange the switch, including cancellation
A premium indication, not personal advice. Prefer to talk it through? Call 072 - 509 24 56.
Why it is so high
None no-claims years means no discount; you start at the bottom of the table.
The age band up to about twenty-four has demonstrably more and more serious claims. That is not a judgement about you personally but about the group.
What you can do
Choose a car with a low rating group: less power and a lower list price make a considerable difference.
Consider third-party, fire and theft instead of comprehensive cover for an older car; that usually saves the most.
Choose a a higher excess, provided you can afford that amount after a loss.
Ask about being added as a second-driver arrangement on a parent's policy; that way you legally build up years of your own.
What you had better not do
Registering the car in the name of a parent while you are the regular driver. That is an incorrect declaration under Article 7:928 of the Dutch Civil Code; after a loss the insurer can refuse or reduce the payout.
It looks like a saving until something goes wrong, and then it costs many times over.
It improves of its own accord
Every claim-free year earns a discount, and the first years give the largest steps. After a small loss, paying it yourself is therefore often wiser than claiming.
In brief
A motor premium is not a price but a calculation. The insurer starts with a base premium for the vehicle, based on rating group, weight and list price, and then applies factors to it: your bonus-malus step, your age band, the region where the car is kept, the mileage and the cover you choose. As a new driver it is not one of those factors that works out badly, but two at once.
The first is the step. Without a statement of no-claims history you start with no discount, at the bottom of the ladder. The second is the age band: insurers place drivers in cohorts, and the youngest cohorts have demonstrably more and more serious claims. That is a statement about the group and not about you. The two factors multiply each other, which explains why the difference from an experienced driver is so large.
The good news lies in the slope of the ladder: the first no-claims years give the largest steps up, while a single at-fault claim puts you back several steps. If you want to know how to set the policy up yourself, read car insurance for new drivers.
Where things go wrong in practice
Two unfavourable factors that reinforce each other
The no-claims step and the age band are separate factors in the premium calculation and they work multiplicatively. A new driver of thirty has only the first disadvantage; a new driver of eighteen has both. That is why the premium falls noticeably faster for the older starter. It also explains why comparing yields more here than for an average driver: insurers weigh precisely these two factors very differently from one another.
How the no-claims ladder goes up and down
Every calendar year without an at-fault claim earns one step up. An at-fault claim puts you back several steps, usually more than you gain in one year, so that it takes years to recover. At the bottom of the ladder the steps are closest together, so the first years have the most effect. Your position is registered centrally, so a new insurer sees your history even if you switch.
What you can change about the calculation yourself
The vehicle factor is fixed as soon as you choose a car, so that is the first control: less power and a lower list price mean a lower rating group. Then come the form of cover, the excess and the mileage band. A lower mileage lowers the rate, but ties you to that band; if you consistently drive more, that is a change in risk that you have to declare.
What a low premium costs when things go wrong
A rate calculated on incorrect details is not a saving but a deferred refusal. A wrongly declared regular driver, too low a mileage band or a concealed claims history all touch the duty of disclosure under Article 7:928 of the Dutch Civil Code, after which the insurer may reduce or refuse under Article 7:930 DCC. Nor is any discount of use when driving without a valid licence, under the influence, or in the case of intent under Article 7:952 DCC.
What does your premium depend on?
- Bonus-malus step — Your number of no-claims years translates directly into a discount percentage.
- Age band of the driver — A separate factor alongside the step, based on claims figures per cohort.
- Rating group of the vehicle — Power, weight and list price make up the base premium to which everything else is applied.
- Regional factor — The postcode where the car is kept overnight drives the theft and collision risk.
- Mileage band — More kilometres driven means more exposure; the band is binding.
- Type of cover and excess — The last two controls with which you adjust the final amount yourself.
Insurers weigh these details differently. That is why comparing pays off.
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Frequently asked questions
The questions we are asked most often about this.
Why do I pay so much more than my parents for the same car?
Because two factors are unfavourable at once. You lack the discount that goes with a high no-claims step, and you fall into an age band for which insurers calculate a higher claims burden. Those two are multiplied together and not added up. The vehicle is the same for both of you; the difference lies entirely in the factors applied to the base premium.
How quickly does my premium fall if I drive claim-free?
Every calendar year without an at-fault claim earns a step, and the largest steps are at the bottom of the ladder. The first years therefore have the most effect, after which the fall levels off. In addition you move out of the youngest age band of your own accord. Both movements run at the same time, which explains why the premium falls fastest in the first years after you pass your test.
How many steps do I lose after a claim?
After an at-fault claim you drop several steps, as a rule more than you gain in one claim-free year. The exact drop is set out in your insurer's no-claims table and differs from company to company. Glass damage and losses for which the other party is fully liable usually do not count. Ask for the table before you decide to claim for a small loss.
Is it worth comparing as a new driver?
Particularly then. Insurers weigh the age band and the absence of no-claims years very differently from one another, and some apply an age limit below which they will not accept at all. As a result the outcomes for exactly the same car and the same driver vary widely. When comparing, look not only at the amount but also at the additional excess for young drivers and the no-claims table.
What is covered and what is not
What is covered
| Situation | Third-party liability + fire and theft | Comprehensive |
|---|---|---|
| You hit a bollard while parking in your first year | No | Yes |
| A stone chip puts a star in the windscreen on the motorway | Yes | Yes |
| Your car is stolen from outside the student house | Yes | Yes |
| Vandals scratch the whole side of your car overnight | No | Yes |
| After two beers you drive your own car into a lamp post | No | No |
| You hit a deer crossing a country road | Yes | Yes |
The jump to comprehensive cover weighs heavily in the premium with no no-claims years and produces little extra payout on an older car.
