Getting a second car is the most common moment of bonus disappointment: many people expect their existing B10 to "extend" to the new vehicle too. The system, however, counts per vehicle – though there are a few sensible options that can still work out well for the family.
- Every vehicle a registered keeper has runs on its own policy and its own claims history – a class can't be copied from a live policy.
- Under the rules in force, a second car typically starts from A00.
- Worth working through sensibly: who should be the registered keeper, and whose tariff is more favourable for multiple cars.
Why doesn't the class carry over automatically?
Bonus-malus rewards a claim-free driving history per vehicle: under the system's logic, if you run two cars, you carry two risks, and you prove yourself separately on each. That's why, under the rules in force, a second vehicle alongside a live policy starts its own claims history, typically from A00. Transferring an existing class only comes into play if the previous policy ended through loss of interest.
Who should be the registered keeper of the second car?
Within a family, the real question isn't copying the bonus, it's choosing the registered keeper. If the second car is typically used by a spouse or an adult child, it's worth considering having them registered as keeper – that way they build their own claims history, which shows up on the whole family's premiums in the long run. The decision has legal and practical sides too (who's liable, who pays, whose address the letters go to) – for details, see changing registered keeper within the family.
Worth avoiding: registering it to someone else on paper purely to optimise the premium – declarations need to reflect reality.
Tariffs and the second car
Insurers' tariffs don't treat a lower class the same way: the same A00 can be noticeably more favourable with one insurer than another, and some tariff elements typically take the rest of the household's policies into account too. That's why, for a second car, it's specifically worth checking the whole market rather than just "tacking it onto" your existing insurer. The method for comparing: the offer table.
Practical order for two policies
With two cars, the biggest risk is admin drifting apart: two renewal dates, two premium payments, two notification addresses. It's worth managing both policies in one place, on one calendar – for my clients, renewal tracking runs for both (or even all three) vehicles, and the renewal review also covers casco and any other policies in turn. That way, two cars aren't double the burden, just one well-organised system.
Good to know: aligning the two renewal dates
With two cars, the biggest convenience gain comes from managing renewal dates deliberately. There are two routes: track both in one calendar (two pairs of reminders, following the checklist), or align them over the longer term – for example, timing your next car's new policy start date close to the other vehicle's renewal date. The advantage of renewal dates running together is that comparing offers happens in one round, and the household's full car picture lands on the table at the same time – which also makes the most of any household-level elements in insurers' tariffs. If you let me know before the renewal date, I review the multi-vehicle calendar in one go: every car in one table.
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