Foreign no-claims bonus in Germany: how to get claim-free years from abroad recognised

Moving to Germany – or coming back after some years abroad – does not have to mean starting your car insurance from scratch. Claim-free years you built up with an insurer in another country can be taken into account when a German insurer sets your SF class (Schadenfreiheitsklasse, the German no-claims class). What matters is a proper claims history statement and how your new insurer converts it. This guide explains what the law requires, what each insurer decides for itself and how to approach it in practice.

What the law says – and what it does not

Since 2024 the German Compulsory Insurance Act (Pflichtversicherungsgesetz, PflVG) contains rules based on EU Directive (EU) 2021/2118:

• Right to a statement: A motor liability insurer must issue a claims history statement (Bescheinigung über den Schadenverlauf) within 15 days of your request and when the policy ends (§ 5c(1) PflVG). Insurers in other EU and EEA countries have the same duty under the Directive.
• One EU template: The statement follows a template set by the European Commission (Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/1855). Its fields are numbered identically in every language version, which makes a foreign statement easy to read.
• Equal treatment: A German insurer must treat a statement from another EEA country exactly like a German one when setting premiums and discounts. It may not treat you less favourably or add a surcharge because of your nationality or simply because you lived in another EEA country (§ 5c(3) PflVG).
• Transparency: Every insurer has to publish on its website a general overview of how it uses claims history statements when calculating premiums (§ 8b PflVG).

What the law does not do: There is no official conversion table from foreign years into a German SF class. Whether and how many years count is set out in each insurer's own terms. The rules cover motor liability (Haftpflicht); for fully comprehensive cover (Vollkasko) the insurer alone decides. Countries outside the EEA – for example Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Ukraine or the USA – are not covered by the equal-treatment rule, although some insurers accept records from these countries voluntarily.

What the statement should show

Check the statement before you hand it in. Getting a corrected version from abroad later can take a long time.

If you had several policies in a row, one statement often covers only the most recent one. Ask for a separate statement for each earlier policy.

Step by step

1. Request the statement early – ideally while your policy abroad is still running or as soon as it ends. A short written request quoting your policy number and number plate works better than a phone call.
2. Check that it is complete: name, period, vehicle type and claims – see the table above.
3. Clarify the language: many German insurers accept English or German; others ask for a translation. Ask before you apply.
4. Ask before you sign: submit the statement with your application and get the SF class offered for liability and Vollkasko confirmed in writing (an email is enough).
5. Compare several offers: because every insurer converts foreign records its own way, the same statement can lead to quite different classes and premiums.
6. Check your policy schedule: make sure the promised SF class actually appears there. Where to look: how to find out your SF class.

Special cases

• Returning to Germany: if you had a German SF class before you left, many insurers will still take over that old record for several years after the policy ended. Whether German and foreign years are added together varies – ask which record counts.
• Company car abroad: a record in your employer's name is not your own record. Whether an employer's confirmation is accepted is up to the insurer.
• Policy in your partner's name: this is not recognition but a transfer of someone else's record, with its own rules: transferring an SF class.
• No proof at all: without a statement, the policy starts in an entry class. Under the model terms (AKB I.2.2.1), holding a licence for at least three years leads to SF ½ instead of SF 0. A licence from outside the EEA only counts if it can be exchanged for a German one without a further test or has already been exchanged (AKB I.2.5). Some insurers apply different rules.

Licence, registration and eVB for newcomers: car insurance for expats in Germany.

Frequently asked questions about foreign no-claims bonuses

Does a German insurer have to recognise my claim-free years from abroad?

No, there is no obligation to credit them. For statements from the EEA, however, equal treatment applies: the insurer must treat them like a German statement and may not charge a surcharge because of where you come from.

How many years will be credited?

Each insurer sets this in its own terms. Ask for the SF class to be confirmed in writing before you take out the policy.

Do policies from Switzerland, the UK or Ukraine count?

Not by law, because these countries are not part of the EEA. Some insurers accept such records voluntarily.

Does recognition also apply to Vollkasko?

The legal rules cover motor liability. Whether foreign years also count for Vollkasko is up to the insurer.

Can I hand in the statement after the policy has started?

Some insurers set short deadlines for this. Submit it with your application if you can – otherwise the safest route is often switching at the next renewal date.

Next step

With your statement ready, you can compare offers in a targeted way. Compare car insurance by PLZ

Note: General information without guarantee; not legal or insurance advice. How foreign records are credited is set out in each insurer's terms (AKB). Last updated: October 2026.

Sources

• § 5c PflVG: claims history statement (German)
• § 8b PflVG: insurers' published policy on claims history statements (German)
• Directive (EU) 2021/2118 (EUR-Lex)
• Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/1855: claims history statement template (EUR-Lex)
• GDV: model terms AKB, section I (SF system, licence rules; German)