This report provides an answer to the question of whether negative or positive financial consequences which were intended to stimulate drivers to be involved in fewer accidents really cause fewer accidents. The research question was worded as follows: what are the effects of financial stimuli on reported damages? Two groups of insured motorists were compared: one group insured according to a no-claim bonus system, and one group who was not insured according to a no-claim bonus system. From the claims data made available by the Association of Dutch Insurers, a selection was made in order to create the two groups. Injury accidents were excluded from the analysis. The analysis was conducted in three steps: (1) An analysis of the claim amounts made to investigate the similarity of the groups showed no marked differences between the two; (2) A paired comparison was based on groups differing only in insurance policy; and (3) a comparison was made based on individual policies by applying a generalised linear model. The most important conclusion from this analysis was that it is not true that a no-claim bonus arrangement generally causes fewer reported claims and/or less third-party loss. (A)
Abstract