Bonus-malus level: 11 is not 100%, 14 is

Level 11 is not worth 100% of the premium. On the historical Belgian scale the reference is level 14, and the level 11 where new drivers start corresponds to 85%. Many pages mix the two up. A level read without its scale tells you almost nothing.

Why is level 11 not worth 100%?

Because the scale does not have its midpoint at the starting level. It runs from 0 to 22, but the neutral point, where you pay exactly the base premium, sits at level 14. Levels 0 to 13 are bonuses. Levels 15 to 22 are maluses.

A driver starting at level 11 therefore already enjoys a 15% reduction on the base premium. A driver insuring a car for business use starts at level 14 and pays the full premium from day one. P&V, a Belgian insurer, confirms this in its public documentation for its current scale (14 for 100%, 11 as the usual start, 14 for business use).

The error comes from a tempting shortcut: "we start at box 11, so box 11 is the reference". It is wrong, and it skews every calculation that follows.

The pre-2004 statutory scale, line by line

Until 31 December 2003, all Belgian insurers applied the same scale. It remains a useful benchmark, because most current grids are variants of it. I took the published percentages for that scale and converted each line into euros on a notional base premium of €600.

Source of the percentages: the scale as reproduced by mon-assurance-auto.be, consistent with the benchmarks P&V gives (14 at 100%, maximum malus "almost double"). Levels missing from the table (2 to 4, 6, 7, 16 and 17) are not in the source, and I do not invent them.

Two readings deserve a pause. The steps are uneven: between 9 and 14 each level weighs about 4 to 5 points, while the jump from 21 to 22 is worth 40, or €240 on our base. And the cost of a malus depends not only on how many levels you lose but on where on the scale you stand.

Since 2004, who sets the scale?

Each insurer. The single system disappeared on 1 January 2004 and no rule forces a company to use 23 levels today. Our guide to the bonus-malus in Belgium already set the framework; here the question is how to read the number.

P&V lists three families of scales on the market: 0 to 18, -2 to 22 and -4 to 22. The start is most often at level 11. The descent is one level a year as a rule, sometimes two levels a year for young drivers at some insurers.

There is also a second mechanism that the scale alone does not show. Article 66 of the general car conditions of Ethias provides that the liability premium changes with the combined effect of the bonus-malus scale and a reduction linked to the number of years spent at level 0. The table in that clause is laid out over several columns (entry, after one year, after two years) that you must read in the original document. Keep the principle: two drivers at the same level can pay different premiums depending on how long they have been there.

Four readings of the same number

The table below sets the pre-2004 statutory scale against the scales insurers use now. Where my public sources give no figure, I say so rather than fill the gap.

One lesson jumps out. The "-2" of one scale is not a better bonus than the "0" of another: they are numbering conventions, and only the percentage next to them counts. Comparing levels from one company to another is like comparing Celsius and Fahrenheit.

An at-fault claim at level 14: €180 more a year

Take the notional €600 base premium and the statutory scale. A driver at level 14 who causes an accident moves to level 19: from €600 to €780, or €180 more a year. A driver at level 9 (€462) who climbs to 14 pays €138 more. At level 10, the jump to 15 costs €144.

The effect therefore depends on the starting point, and it lasts: an at-fault claim in principle weighs on the premium for several years, the time it takes to come back down. For the full calculation of what an accident costs and when it is better to pay it yourself, see our article on at-fault and shared-fault accidents.

The joker, in two lines

It prevents the rise after an at-fault accident, but the conditions for granting it vary from one insurer to another. Who has one, after how many claim-free years: it is all in the contract.

Where do you read the percentage for your level?

Not on the claims history certificate. It lists your accidents over the last five years, with a liability box, but contains no level: carattest.be supplies it online, and we detail its content in our article on the claims history certificate.

The level is read in your specific conditions, the grid in the general conditions. Three checks are enough:

• The scale: from which limit to which limit, and which box is at 100%?
• Your current percentage: what share of the base premium does your level, shown in the specific conditions, correspond to?
• The rule for moving up: how many levels after an at-fault claim, what about shared fault, and is there a joker?

If the table is missing or unreadable, write to the insurer or broker and ask for the grid as an attachment. It is a routine request, and the broker's duty of advice covers exactly this kind of explanation. If the answer is unsatisfactory, the Insurance Ombudsman, the Belgian out-of-court body for insurance disputes, handles complaints free of charge, and the FSMA, the financial services authority, supervises the conduct of intermediaries.

A confusion that costs money

It makes you overestimate your bonus. A driver who thinks they are "at 100%" at level 11 believes they pay the full premium when they actually enjoy a 15% discount on the old scale. They misjudge what a competitor offers, and they underestimate what a malus will cost.

Conversely, a driver with a high malus who reads "level 16" without the grid cannot tell whether that means 135% or much more. To renegotiate, start from the percentage, not the number, as we explain in our article on renegotiating. And to see what an excess changes in a payout, our piece on the English excess extends the reading of the contract.

This article informs and compares. It does not replace the grid of your contract, which alone is authoritative.

To place each company, our ranking of the best car insurers in Belgium is the starting point. Frame your needs with the quiz, then move on to the offer comparison.