Bonus-malus
Bonus-malus is the scale on which Belgian motor insurers adjust a premium according to claims history. A year without an at-fault claim moves you one degree down and lowers the premium; an at-fault claim moves you several degrees up. Your position travels with you through a claims history certificate when you change insurer.
How the position moves
The mechanism is deliberately asymmetric. Improvement is one degree per clean year, deterioration is several degrees per at-fault claim, so recovering from a single accident takes several years of uneventful driving.
A claim in which you are not at fault, with the third party identified and their responsibility established, leaves your position untouched. This is why the European accident statement completed at the roadside matters so much: it allocates responsibility.
When you change insurer, the previous one issues a claims history certificate stating your recorded claims and your position. The incoming insurer places you on its own scale from that document, so you never restart as an unknown risk.
Frequently asked questions
Does a claim where I am not responsible affect my bonus-malus?
No, provided your responsibility is not engaged and the other party is identified. The accident statement establishes the allocation of responsibility, which is what determines whether the claim is recorded against your own position.
Does my claims record from another country count in Belgium?
Belgian insurers commonly take a documented foreign record into account, although each applies its own scale and none is required to convert it exactly. Ask your previous insurer abroad for a written statement before you leave.