Don't Lose Your Insurance and No-Claim Bonus Rights When Selling Your Vehicle

Insurance and Inspection
Author: Mustafa Odabaşı
Creation: 18 October 2026

When you sell your vehicle, your no-claims discount stays with you, not with the car; if you don't request cancellation and a refund of the premium, years of discount go to waste.

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When you sell your vehicle, your traffic insurance does not automatically end; you must cancel the policy yourself, claim a refund of the premium for the remaining days, and transfer your no-claims step to your new vehicle. A seller who fails to do these things on time both wastes money and risks the discount entitlement accumulated over years. In the lines below, I explain this process step by step in plain language, with the habit of someone with over thirty years of field experience.

Key Highlights

As of December 5, 2024 , the old 15-day tolerance period for second-hand sales has been completely removed.
Traffic insurance after the sale is not cancelled automatically; the seller must apply.
The no-claims step stays with the seller, not the vehicle ,.
On policy cancellation, a minimum deduction amount is subtracted from the refund even for a one-day policy.
The no-claims entitlement must generally be transferred to the new policy within 2-3 months of the policy's end.

What Happens to Traffic Insurance When a Vehicle Is Sold?

Mandatory traffic insurance is a protection that every motor vehicle owner must obtain under the Highway Traffic Law No. 2918; it covers the other party's bodily and material damages in an accident. It is issued annually, and failing to obtain it is subject to legal penalties. Casco insurance, on the other hand, is an entirely different structure: a completely voluntary contract between the insured and the insurance company. The criteria that determine its premium - age, damage history, no-claims step, occupation, usage pattern - depend on the insured.

This is exactly why policies behave differently when a vehicle changes hands. In practice, traffic insurance stays close to the vehicle; however, at the moment of sale, the seller's policy ends and the buyer is required to take out a new policy in their own name. Casco is unquestionably personal: it does not transfer to the new owner under the same terms, because the premium is calculated based on that person. In the past, there was a transition period during which, after a sale, the buyer remained covered for 15 more days under the previous owner's policy. That period is over: as of December 5, 2024, this 15-day tolerance rule has been completely removed. At a notarized sale, the buyer is required to immediately take out insurance in their own name; as of 2026, the notary system queries the insurance and a vehicle cannot be sold without a policy.

Let us also note one detail from the start: if the sale does not take place - that is, if the vehicle does not change hands - the new operator must take out a new policy within 15 days; during this short period, the existing coverage continues temporarily. But once the sale is finalized, there is no waiting period at all.

Step by Step for the Seller: Cancellation and Premium Refund

Aracı sattığınız gün trafigik sigortanızı iptal etmezseniz, kullanmadığınız her gün prim olarak yanar gider.

Let me tell you the most common mistake right away: no insurance company learns on its own that the vehicle has been sold and cancels the policy. There is no such thing as automatic cancellation. After the sale, the policy continues to appear active in the seller's name and premiums are wasted day by day. For this reason, you must request cancellation with your own application immediately after the notary transaction.

Sale at the notary: Whether or not you have a valid traffic insurance policy in your own name, the buyer must have taken out their own policy before the transaction. If the seller renews their policy shortly before the sale, they must make an endorsement because the registration information has changed.
Cancellation application: Traffic insurance cancellation can be done via e-Devlet (if the company supports it), by visiting a branch in person, or by e-mail or fax.
Refund calculation: The remaining amount is calculated by deducting the number of days the policy was valid at the daily premium rate. Note: Even if the policy is cancelled after just 1 day, a minimum deduction amount is subtracted from the refund; the longer the validity period, the larger the deduction. That is why delaying the cancellation is money straight out of your pocket.
Payment: The refund usually returns within 3-5 business days, through the channel the payment was made (credit card, bank account, or cash).

What about the comprehensive insurance side?

In general practice, the comprehensive insurance policy is not transferred to the new buyer; some companies may offer exceptions for transfers within the family, but do not rely on this. You take the sales document - the notarized sales contract - and apply to the company or the agency. If no claim payment has been made during the policy period, a day-based refund is received for the remaining period; if there has been a claim payment, no refund may be given or the calculation changes. In other words, if you have made a claim on your comprehensive policy, the cancellation may no longer have any financial meaning.

Let me also remind you of some special cases. If you have written the vehicle off, cancellation with a day-based refund is possible with the document for removing it from traffic. For financed or mortgaged vehicles, the loan is closed first and the lien is removed; a notarized sale cannot be made without removing the lien. For fleet vehicles, a request to remove the vehicle from the policy is made; if the usage type changes on a commercial vehicle, the premium is recalculated.

Who Keeps the No-Claim Discount When Selling?

This is the issue sellers most often get wrong, and the answer is clear: The no-claim level stays with the seller, not the vehicle. The discount is defined to the registered owner. The buyer is rated according to their own driving and claim history; the level you have built up over five or six years provides them no benefit. When you sell a vehicle that has gone claim-free for years, that level is still your right.

When you buy a new vehicle, you should act quickly to use this right: The discount can usually be transferred to a new vehicle and a new policy within 2-3 months from the end of the policy. A driver who misses this window may lose the discount. A seller who takes out a new policy within three months continues to benefit from the no-claim discount.

Let us also briefly recall how the level system works: For a claim-free first year, you gain one level; the discount rate provided in the first year can vary between 10% and 15% in practice. The rates change as you move up the levels; for example, at level 5 the discount may drop to the 5% level, and moving to level 6 becomes possible with a second claim-free year. For a second vehicle, however, an automatic no-claim discount is not applied - your level is tied to one vehicle and is not copied to a second vehicle.

One final up-to-date note: Recently, comments have been circulating suggesting that traffic insurance has fully shifted to a driver-based system. The August 2026 regulation does not carry that meaning; under the system's still-operating logic today, the no-claims bonus right is tracked through the vehicle and its owner. In other words, the classic rule of "my step follows me" remains unchanged for now.

What the Buyer Must Do: Do Not Go to the Notary Without a Policy

I am writing from the seller's perspective, but it is impossible to grasp the whole process without knowing the buyer's side; moreover, these mistakes cause both buyer and seller to suffer at the notary together. The buyer is required to take out traffic insurance in their own name before the notary transaction. Going to the notary without a policy is the most common mistake in practice and halts the transaction from the start. If comprehensive insurance will be purchased, the policy's start time should be checked before the moment of delivery; even a two-hour gap can become a matter of dispute.

After the new registration certificate arrives: the endorsement procedure

When the new registration certificate reaches your hands, check the license plate and chassis number, full name, address details, vehicle type, and engine displacement. Then you need to have an endorsement made on the policy: If the insurance started with the temporary registration, the policy must be updated with the new registration details. Address, plate, and contact updates can be done the same day; do not say it is not worth going to the agency for this small procedure-incorrect information in the policy is like a mine waiting to cause a problem at any moment.

Short checklist for the buyer

Take out traffic insurance in your own name before going to the notary.
Set the comprehensive insurance start time so that it covers the moment of delivery.
Request the vehicle insurance information center (SBM) record for damage history; do not skip the record by relying on the expert inspection alone.
Query the vehicle's lien/loan status and its motor vehicle tax and traffic fine debts; debts halt the notary transaction.
When the new registration certificate arrives, have an endorsement added to the policy.

Common Mistakes and Their Inevitable Consequences

Let me say this as someone who has followed this business for many years: most of the snags in the sales process stem not from the insurance itself but from small neglected procedures. Let me gather the most common mistakes and their consequences.

Forgetting or delaying the cancellation request: The policy remains active on the seller, premiums go to waste; each passing day reduces the refund amount.
Missing the no-claims transfer window: Once the 2-3 month window after the policy ends closes, the discount can be lost.
Going to the notary without a policy: The transaction is not carried out; in addition to lost time, the hours stated in the sales contract can create problems.
Failing to check the damage record: The expert inspection report is not enough; the buyer should request the SBM record.
Not querying lien, tax, and fine debts: These directly halt the transaction at the notary.
Not getting an endorsement: A policy circulating with an old address and registration details becomes the most disputed issue at the moment of a claim.

Let me add this: when a vehicle is sold, the fate of the mandatory traffic insurance and the comprehensive (casco) policy is not the same. With traffic insurance, there is cancellation and a pro-rata premium refund, while with casco, whether or not there has been a claim payment can completely change the refund. Managing the two policies with the same mindset is the source of the most costly mistakes.

Post-Sale Transaction Checklist: Who Does What, and When?

Transaction	Responsible Party	Timing
Taking out traffic insurance in their own name	Buyer	Before the notary transaction
Notary sale and transfer	Both parties together	Day of sale
Cancelling the traffic insurance	Seller	Immediately after the sale
Requesting the refund of the remaining premium	Seller	Together with the cancellation application, refund within 3-5 business days
Cancelling the casco policy with the sale document	Seller	After the sale
Transferring the no-claims level to the new policy	Seller	Within 2-3 months of the policy's expiry
Endorsement with the new registration details	Buyer	When the registration certificate arrives

The essence of this whole matter is captured in three sentences: cancel your policy on the day the sale is completed, claim your remaining premium, and carry your no-claims entitlement over to your new policy without losing it. The buyer's side can also complete this without going to the notary without a policy and without skipping the endorsement once the registration certificate arrives. This small amount of diligence stays in the pockets of both the seller and the buyer - as far as I have seen over the years, nearly all problems stem from forgetting these three sentences.