Bonus-malus is the area of MTPL most weighed down by myths – understandably, since its rules have changed from time to time, while family folklore is forever. Six stubborn myths follow; next to each, we set out what's true instead, and where to find the full article.
- Your bonus doesn't belong to the car or to the insurer – it belongs to you as registered keeper.
- It isn't lost when you switch, and a no-fault claim doesn't worsen it – only a paid at-fault claim does.
- Within a family, it can't be inherited or lent out – everyone builds their own.
"The bonus belongs to the car and goes with it when it's sold"
No: your class is tied to you as registered keeper. It doesn't leave with the car you sell – it stays with you, and under the rules it can be transferred to your next vehicle. The buyer takes out their own policy with their own claims history, not yours.
A twin to this myth: "when you buy a used car, you're entitled to the previous owner's bonus". You're not – claims history isn't a fitting that comes with the car.
"If I switch insurer, I start from scratch"
No: your class lives in the central register, and the new insurer picks it up from there. The real risk in switching isn't your bonus, it's the timing – a gap in cover, a late cancellation; that's what the bonus class protection article covers.
A related myth: "I have to prove my history to the new insurer with paperwork again". Typically not, domestically – the system is electronic.
"A no-fault claim hurts it too" and "one claim equals one class"
A no-fault claim doesn't affect your class – only a claim your insurer has paid out against your policy counts. And under the rules in force, the ratio is typically one claim to two classes down, not one; more claims mean proportionately more. For the details and the 45-day repayment exception, see the effect of an at-fault claim.
"The bonus can be inherited in the family" and "B10 lasts forever"
Your class isn't an inheritance or family property: everyone builds their own history as registered keeper – a child doesn't step into a parent's B10 (for sensible family options, see changing registered keeper). And B10 isn't protection either: the system drops you from there too if you cause a claim – the only difference is that falling hurts less from higher up. Maintaining your claims history is an ongoing job – the renewal routine article helps with that.
+2 bonus questions many people get wrong
"There's no climbing out of the malus zone." Yes there is – the same way the bonus builds: one step up per claim-free year, under the rules in force. Malus isn't a life sentence, just a steeper stretch of the same ladder. "The insurer can waive the class drop if I ask nicely." No – class rules aren't a matter of goodwill: the system applies equally to everyone. What the rules do allow for is repaying a paid claim within the deadline (the 45-day exception) – and that's a right, not a favour: act in time, and it's yours by rule. The difference between the two shows the system's nature well: predictable, impersonal, and fair precisely because of that.
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