diff --git a/src/ratelimit.c b/src/ratelimit.c
index 1ddc83187f..93157c7a2e 100644
--- a/src/ratelimit.c
+++ b/src/ratelimit.c
@@ -30,11 +30,12 @@
 bool ratelimit_test(RateLimit *r) {
         usec_t ts;
 
-        ts = now(CLOCK_MONOTONIC);
-
         assert(r);
-        assert(r->interval > 0);
-        assert(r->burst > 0);
+
+        if (r->interval <= 0 || r->burst <= 0)
+                return true;
+
+        ts = now(CLOCK_MONOTONIC);
 
         if (r->begin <= 0 ||
             r->begin + r->interval < ts) {