In Germany, under the model terms your no-claims class (Schadenfreiheitsklasse, SF) only expires after more than seven years without insurance. A break of up to six months costs nothing. Between six and twelve months you keep your old level but gain no year. After twelve months one claim-free year is deducted for each further calendar year started.
Typical premium rates, so you can see what a lost class costs.
Example
Typical range
SF 0, no history
often about 230 percent of the base rate
SF 10
often about 40 to 45 percent
SF 35
about 20 percent
Break up to 6 months
0 years lost
Each insurer sets the percentages in its tariff, the deadlines are in the terms.
Values as of October 2026; as a broker we check how your tariff calculates before a switch.
Worked example
Two and a half years without a car, previously SF 15
A driver in SF 15 deregisters her car in summer and insures a car again about 30 months later. Her policy follows the model terms.
Level before the break
SF 15
Break
about 30 months, so more than 12 months
Deduction
one year per further calendar year started, here roughly two years
She restarts at roughly SF 13 instead of SF 15. A break under six months would have cost her nothing.
The deadlines in the model terms
When the no-claims class expires is not set by law but by your policy terms. Most insurers follow the model terms of the German insurers' association, section I.6.3. A break is any time without cover: deregistration, a seasonal plate outside its season, end of the policy or sale of the car.
Your insurer may be more generous, and some tariffs are. If you have had a long break, ask before taking out a new policy which deadlines apply.
Length of the break
What happens to your class
up to 6 months
history carried over as if uninterrupted
over 6 up to 12 months
level from before the break, no step up for the break
over 12 months
one claim-free year deducted per further calendar year started
over 7 years
claim-free history is no longer carried over
When you give your class away for good
Besides a long break, there is a second way to lose your class: transferring it to a relative. Under the model terms the person giving it up loses the discount completely. The recipient only gets as many years as they could have driven with their own licence.
If you start driving again later, you start without history. Only give your class away if you are sure you will not insure a car of your own again.
A downgrade is not expiry
A claim paid by your insurer from liability or comprehensive cover moves you down several classes on the next 1 January. Your class does not expire, it only gets worse, and you climb back up afterwards.
If a downgrade after a claim coincides with a long break, the model terms first apply the claim downgrade and then the deduction for the break.
How to protect your class during a break
Deregister the car instead of cancelling the policy. For cars the policy then turns into free dormant cover (Ruheversicherung) under the usual terms, and your history stays with the insurer. How long dormant cover lasts is stated in your policy.
If you move abroad or go without a car for longer, ask for a certificate of your claims history before the policy ends. It proves your years later, also with another insurer.
When the maths hardly matters
If you only have a few claim-free years, a long break costs little. The big premium jumps lie between SF 0 and about SF 10; above that each class changes less.
Expiry hurts people with 20 years or more who deregister for a long time, for example during a stay abroad. For them it pays to keep the break under seven years or to pass the class to a relative in time.
Step by step
Note the date of deregistration or policy end.
Request a claims history certificate before a long break.
Present it for the new policy.
Ask about the new tariff's deadlines.
Only plan a transfer to a relative if you want no car of your own again.
Checklist
Car deregistered instead of policy cancelled
Claims history certificate on file
Break kept under seven years
New insurer's deadlines known
Effects of a family transfer understood
Common mistakes
Assuming the class is gone after one year
Passing the class to your child and wanting to drive again later
Going to a new insurer without proof
Confusing a downgrade after a claim with expiry
Questions and answers
Frequently asked
Does my no-claims class expire after one year?
No.
Under the model terms you keep your level for up to twelve months.
After that years are deducted, and it is gone after more than seven years.
Does dormant cover count as a break?
Yes, the time after deregistration is a break.
Up to six months you lose nothing.
What about a seasonal plate?
The months outside the season count as a break under the model terms.
How a short season affects the yearly step up depends on your tariff.
Can my insurer have stricter rules?
Deviations from the model terms are possible.
Your tariff's terms show whether it is stricter or more generous.
Do I lose my class when I switch insurer?
No, the history moves with you, also to another insurer.
What if I drove abroad?
Each insurer decides whether foreign claim-free years count.
