Guide

The bonus protection is explained in a simple way – these are the 4 points to consider.

Overlooking the rear of the car or confusing the pedals: sometimes a moment of inattention is enough to cause an accident. As a result, the car insurance company increases the premium by a few hundred francs.

With the bonus protection, you can avoid all this and save yourself further hassle. But how exactly does bonus protection work and is it worth taking out bonus protection in car insurance?

1. What does bonus protection mean?

Most car insurance companies operate under the bonus-malus system. This means that the premium decreases from year to year if no accidents occur - until the lowest premium level is reached.

Now you have an accident and - whoosh! - the premium level rises again. This means that the year after the accident you will pay a higher premium. With the bonus protection in car insurance, however, the premium remains constant even after an accident.

From CHF 29 per month

Insure your car now

Comprehensive cover for your car
SorglosReparatur – the worry-free repair service – with a collection and delivery service and a lifetime guarantee on repairs
Take out easily online 24/7

calculate now

2. Where can I get bonus protection?

With most motor insurance policies, you can include the bonus protection in both liability insurance and full casco insurance. Double bonus protection makes sense as many accidents damage both your car and someone else's property. Please note: bonus protection is usually not available in the partial casco, as it is usually not based on the premium level system. You can find out more about the difference between partial and full casco in our casco insurance guide.

3. Bonus protection, yes or no – when is it worth protecting your bonus level?

As already mentioned, bonus protection prevents your premium from becoming more expensive after an accident. However, if you opt for bonus protection in car insurance, you will pay a slightly higher premium each year than you would pay without bonus protection. Whether this is actually useful for you depends on several factors: How much more does bonus protection cost per year? How much would your premium be after an accident? Are you willing to take the risk yourself or do you prefer to play it safe? Does your bonus protection come into effect even in the event of two accidents in a very short time?

As the bonus protection is regulated slightly differently at each insurance company, it is best to ask your advisor for details; by the way, with online insurances this can be done simply by e-mail or telephone.

4. Bonus protection – an example

When you buy a new car, you compare different offers:

Offer A without bonus protection: CHF 1100.–

Offer B with bonus protection: CHF 1200.–

You decide for the cheapest offer without the protection of the bonus. After 3 years, one morning you drive too quickly into a traffic jam and collide with the car in front of you. The following year, the premium increases to CHF 1500.– due to the accident.

Offer A without bonus protection after an accident: CHF 1500.–

Offer B with bonus protection after an accident: CHF 1200.–

With Offer B you would have paid a little more premium earlier - in 3 years the supplement would have been CHF 300.–, but thanks to the bonus protection, the premium would have remained constant even after the accident. Since you have not subscribed to the bonus protection, you are now paying CHF 400.– more - and therefore have to dig deeper into your pockets over the years. If you drive without an accident in the next few years, your premium will decrease again, but it will increase if you have another accident.

Conclusion

With Bonus Protection, your premium does not increase even after an accident.
Whether the bonus protection is useful or not always depends on your personal situation.
It is best to seek advice on whether bonus protection is useful for you.