No-claims bonus for novice drivers – sf class 0 for beginners

Here you can find out what no-claims bonus new drivers can expect for their car insurance. Beginners and young drivers who have had a driver's license for less than three years start with SF class 0 for car insurance. On the other hand, if you have held a driver's license for at least 3 years, you can get in with SF class ½. No-claims class 0 is associated with a high premium rate. Unfortunately, this makes car insurance very expensive for novice drivers.

Higher no-claims bonus through accident-free driving

If you want to build up a higher no-claims bonus (SFR) as a novice driver, you must be accident-free with your car on the road. However, you can move up a maximum of one no-claims class after each year without a claim. Therefore, it takes quite a while for a novice driver to earn a high no-claims discount. Below we reveal a few tricks on how to still save on car insurance as a beginner and young driver.

Insure the vehicle as a second car through your parents

A novice driver can save a lot of money on car insurance if he insures his vehicle as a second car through his parents. The second car regulation offers the advantage that the second car is classified in a higher no-claims bonus class directly at the beginning of the insurance period. In the best case, you can even directly take over the no-claims bonus (SFR) from the first car with the second car. This is worthwhile for the novice driver, especially if the parents have already achieved a high SF class with their first car. However, insuring the car through the parents often has other advantages as well. Parents usually have better insurance values because, for example, they own real estate or have a certain profession.

Take over no-claims bonus from relatives

During the period in which the vehicle is insured as a second car via the parents, the novice driver cannot experience his own no-claims bonus. However, there is the possibility that the novice driver can later transfer the no-claims class of the second car from the parents. Almost all insurance companies in Germany allow a transfer of the SFR to first-degree relatives.

In addition, many insurance companies also allow you to take over the no-claims bonus from your grandparents later on, if they no longer drive a car in their old age and therefore no longer need their discount. Unfortunately, it is not possible to obtain a discount immediately after obtaining a driver's license. Because a maximum of as many claim-free years can be taken over as one could have experienced oneself up to the time of the discount transfer.

With a family tariff, novice drivers can save money

If the beginner prefers to have the car insurance on himself instead of his parents, he can still benefit from the parents' contract. The family tariffs offered by many insurance companies make this possible. With the family tariff, the beginner can immediately start with a higher no-claims bonus class than SF class 0 and then pays a correspondingly lower premium rate. If the novice driver wants to benefit from a family tariff, he must take out the car insurance with the same insurance company with which his parents have insured their car. Another advantage of this variant is that the novice driver himself is registered as policyholder and can therefore also experience his own no-claims bonus (SFR).

Compare offers before signing a contract

There are significant differences in the price of car insurance. For this reason, novice drivers who want to take out low-cost car insurance should compare the offers of the individual insurance companies carefully before signing a contract. The easiest way to do this is with a comparison calculator. You can use our comparison calculator at the bottom of this page to search for cheap car insurance for beginners.

Pay attention to the type class when buying a car

How much you have to pay for car insurance depends on several different factors. One of these factors is the type class. Each vehicle model is assigned to a type class based on the damage statistics. Vehicle models that have suffered a lot of damage are classified in the higher type classes. The higher the type class, the more you have to pay for insuring the vehicle.

Typical beginner cars can often be found in the expensive type classes. That's why young drivers who want to get a cheap car insurance should already have an eye on the type class classification when buying a car. You can check the type class of the individual vehicle models on the website of the German Insurance Association (GDV). But keep in mind that the type classes are adjusted every year based on the latest damage statistics.

Price reduction for novice drivers through accompanied driving

In Germany, young people aged 17 have had the opportunity to take part in the accompanied driving program for several years now. This allows young people to get behind the wheel of a car a year before they reach the age of majority. However only under the condition that as a passenger a traffic-reliable person rides along in the car. It is required that the accompanying person must be at least 30 years old and have held a Class B driver's license for at least five years. In addition, the accompanying person may have no more than one point in Flensburg.

As a beginner, you can benefit from accompanied driving in two ways at once. On the one hand, young drivers gain driving experience at an early stage. On the other hand, accompanied driving is also worthwhile for novice drivers from a financial point of view, because many insurance companies offer a discount as a reward for participating in accompanied driving. Accident statistics show that young drivers who have taken part in the accompanied driving program cause significantly fewer accidents.

Save on car insurance as a beginner with telematics tariffs

Nowadays many insurance companies in Germany offer so-called telematics tariffs. These telematics tariffs are characterized by the fact that the driving behavior of the policyholder is monitored very closely. For this purpose, a telematics box can be installed in the car, which continuously records driving data such as speed, acceleration or braking behavior. Alternatively, an app is installed on the insurance customer's cell phone. The app also stores driving data and sends it to the insurance company. In the telematics tariffs, insured persons who drive particularly carefully according to the transmitted data receive a price reduction. Telematics tariffs are primarily worthwhile for novice drivers or. Young drivers who have not yet reached a high SFR.

If the beginner is willing to disclose his driving behavior to the insurance company, it is possible to save a lot of money with the telematics tariffs. Provided, of course, that you drive in accordance with the instructions.

Do without comprehensive insurance for older cars

In Germany, only motor vehicle liability insurance is required by law. In contrast, the conclusion of comprehensive and partial insurance is always voluntary. If you want to save money on car insurance, you should carefully consider whether you might be able to do without fully comprehensive insurance or partially comprehensive insurance. Taking out fully comprehensive insurance makes little sense for older cars that have only a low residual value. The comprehensive insurance is worthwhile in mostly only if the vehicle is less than five years old.

The partial casco covers the following damages:

• Theft,
• Fire,
• Storm, hail and flood,
• Collisions with furred game.

Even with partial cover insurance, it is important to weigh up whether the cost of partial cover insurance is in reasonable proportion to the residual value of the car. Furthermore, one should consider agreeing on a higher deductible for partial coverage to lower the insurance premium.