When you need to purchase an MTPL insurance policy every year, you will definitely have heard of such a designation BM class, or Bonus Malus class. Do you know what it is? How is it directly affected by your driving history, more precisely the number of accidents?
Whats is Bonus Malus class
Bonus Malus is a tool designed by insurers to more accurately calculate the risk class and insurance costs of vehicle users. This calculation takes into account for how long you have been insuring your car and whether there have been (and how many) road rraffic accidents for which the insurer has paid indemnity in your driving history.
If during the insurance period (mentioned in your MTPL policy) you have not caused any road traffic accidents, then at the next Bonus Malus recalculation (September 15 each year) Your BM class will grow, which is good. However, if there has been a car accident that you are to blame for, your BM class will drop, which is bad. The higher the BM class, the cheaper the insurance.
Perceive the BM class as your road user rating, which is given to you at the very beginning - 6. Your rating will increase, decrease or remain the same every year. It will be the same in cases if you have not had MTPL for at least 275 days in the previous reporting period (September 15 to September 15). Every year on September 15, the Latvian Motor Insurance Bureau (LTAB) performs Bonus Malus class recalculations.
If the car owner is one person but the holder is another
In all cases, the Bonus Malus class will be calculated for the rightful holder of the vehicle (indicated on the registration certificate). The only exception will be if the owner of the vehicle is a natural person and the holder is another natural person, then the Bonus Malus will be calculated for the car owner.
Insuring for the first time the civil liability of the owner of the vehicle, is awarded the 6th Bonus Malus class. This is a BM class, which remains for the BM subject until the next calculation of BM classes on September 15.
REMEMBER: The Bonus Malus class will only grow if there has been no road traffic accidents and you have insured your compulsory civil liability for at least 275 days a year.
Iztēlojamies situāciju: The bank is the owner of the vehicle, but you are the authorized user of the vehicle. When you buy a car, you know that you need compulsory insurance to travel on the road. You open MTPL calculator and buy the cheapest MTPL policy. When you buy it for the first time, your Bonus Malus class is 6. You have been driving diligently all year round, you have not caused any insured event and on September 15, when there is a recalculation of BM class, your BM class already rises to 7. If you had caused RTA, then Your Bonus Malus class would be reduced by 30%. If when buying your new car you use it only for 6 months and you have also bought an MTPL policy for 6 months and you have not caused any traffic accident, then your BM class will remain the same, or 6.
What if you own several vehicles
If you own multiple vehicles, such as a motorcycle, car, and truck, then you know, each of these units in the Bonus Malus class will count separately because of that vehicle class.
The breakdown by vehicle class is shown below:
- V1 - V6 - cars
- K1 - K2 - lorries with full weight up to 12,000 kg
- K3 - K6 - lorries with full weight over 12,000 kg
- A1 - A2 - buses with full weight up to 12,000 kg
- A3 - A4 - buses with full weight up to 12,000 kg
- M1 - M2 - motorcycles and mopeds
- TR1 - TR2 - tractor machinery
If you have several cars, then the Bonus Malus class will count exactly as if you had 1 car. You will not receive additional points for the BM class conversion for good driving. On the other hand, if you cause a traffic accident with one car, then it affects the Bonus Malus rating for your other cars as well.
Why BM class is important
It is taken into account every year when calculating the price of the MTPL insurance policy and, the higher the Bonus Malus class, the lower the price of the policy. (If BM class is from 7-17, then the insurer applies a discount (Bonus), if it's 1-5, then the insurer grants a premium to the policy (Malus).
When you start insuring your own vehicle, Bonus Malus will be 6. During the insurance of all vehicles owned by you, it is possible to increase the BM class from 6th to 17th class. In addition, if you cause traffic accidents, the BM class can fall to the 1st class.
What happens if you cause several accidents during the insurance period
Your Bonus malus class, at the next recalculation, will drop by:
- 50% (if you have caused 2 insured events).
- 80% (if you have caused 3 insured events).
- If there are more than 3 insurance cases, the BM class will immediately drop to 1 at the time of recalculation.
How to Find Out Your Bonus Malus Class
Go to the home page of the Latvian Motor Insurance Bureau and search for the section Bonus Malus data.
Log in to the LTAB system with a single login Latvija.lv or any of the other offered options. After a successful connection, your Bonus Malus data will appear on the screen.
As shown in this example, the vehicle owner has a class 9 Bonus Malus and all others a class 6. This does not mean that the vehicle owner has a car of all groups, but that the savings are made in the class of cars (not trucks or any other), because an insurance policy is purchased there and at least 1 vehicle is owned there.
Some interesting facts:
- As you learned in the article above, in order to increase the Bonus Malus class, you need to have insured your vehicle for at least 275 days. What to do if you insure your car for only 6 months during the year? Your accumulated 180 days will not disappear anywhere, they will add up to the days accumulated next year and you will slowly earn a higher Bonus Malus class.
- BM class will not be calculated for vehicles registered abroad.
- If you had a 2nd Bonus Malus class on the previous car and you have sold the car. Then, when purchasing a new car, registering it for yourself, and drawing up a new MTPL policy, the BM class calculation will be continued from 2.
- If you are partially to blame for the insurance, the Bonus Malus class will be reduced for all participants involved.
- If you gave your car to a friend and he caused an insured event (and was at fault), then the Bonus-Malus class will fall on you! So be careful to whom you give your vehicle.