Your bonus isn't a matter of taking your word for it: your claims history is recorded in a central electronic register, and when you switch, the new insurer determines your class from that register – not from what you say or from paperwork. This system is the technical foundation of bonus class protection.
- Your claims history is recorded in a central electronic register – under the rules in force, insurers work from this when you switch.
- For a domestic switch, a separate paper certificate is typically not needed – the system tracks you by your claims history ID.
- A claims history certificate is typically needed for a foreign insurer, or to clarify your history.
How does the register work?
Data on MTPL policies and claims paid out goes into a central register. When you take out a new policy, the insurer looks up your claims history from the register based on the details given on the offer – including your claims history ID – and, under the rules in force, the data held there is what counts: a paper certificate issued by another insurer doesn't override it on its own.
This is also a protection for you: your earned years can't be "lost" when you switch, because they don't sit with the insurer – they sit in the system.
What does this mean when you switch?
In practice, switching insurer is administration-free where your bonus is concerned: the new insurer sees your class from the register, and your new policy starts with the correct class. What's worth watching: entering your previous details (previous insurer, claims history ID) accurately on the offer, since a typo can slow down the check. For the full switching process, see step by step.
If you'd dispute the class shown in the register – for example, if you don't feel a claim is really yours – there's an orderly route to sort it out; as a broker, I help with that.
When is a claims history certificate still needed?
Paper certificates haven't disappeared entirely. A claims history certificate is typically needed if you're moving abroad and want your Hungarian claims history recognised by your insurer there – covered in the article on claims history abroad – or if your history needs to be clarified or documented. The certificate is issued by your previous insurer, with the content and deadline set by the rules in force.
Practical tip: request it in good time before you move, and ask about an English-language version too.
The register and your data
How the register handles data is set out in law; you can request information about your own claims history data, and initiate correction of any errors. In a disputed situation – for example, if how a claim was classed is in question – you can act through your insurer and the established complaints channels; if things get stuck, help from the broker works for this too. The bottom line: your claims history is data with real value to you – keep it in good order, the way you would your bank account.
Good to know: the ID worth writing down
The key to the whole system is your claims history ID: it links your policies together in the register, and every new offer asks for it. You'll find it on your renewal notice and on your policy document – it's worth writing it on the first page of your policy folder, along with your policy numbers. For switching, changing cars, or registered-keeper matters, these are the three pieces of data that let any process start smoothly: the ID, your previous insurer, and the reason cover ended. Keep these to hand, and "bonus verification" stays an invisible background process; don't, and this is exactly what turns into classes stuck pending for weeks and anxious phone calls. One sticky note in the folder – that's the whole protection.
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