Choosing car insurance in five steps
Choosing a good policy is less a matter of comparing than of taking five decisions in the right order. The premium is the outcome, not the starting point.
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Work out for yourself what it would cost.
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- We compare the offerings of several insurers
- An adviser checks whether the cover suits your situation
- We arrange the switch, including cancellation
A premium indication, not personal advice. Prefer to talk it through? Call 072 - 509 24 56.
- Independent advice
- Several insurers
- Switching arranged
- Help with claims
In brief
Step 1: work out what the car will be worth. Not what you paid for it, but what a comparable car will cost in two years' time. Step 2 follows from that: the form of cover. For a recent car comprehensive cover is defensible. For a car worth only a fraction of its new price it is not. The trade-off is set out at is comprehensive cover worth it.
Step 3: record the actual use. Kilometres per year, who drives regularly, where the car is kept overnight and whether you use it for business. This is the part on which most payouts founder afterwards, because an incorrect declaration touches the Articles 7:928 and 7:930 of the Dutch Civil Code. Step 4: read three provisions in the conditions, namely the arrangement for setting the value in the first year, the security requirements for theft, and what happens with glass damage or a collision with an animal.
Step 5: arrange the switch properly. Your no-claims years are registered and go with you, but only if the old policy is ended correctly and the new insurer can consult the register. With most companies you can cancel on any day after the first contract year, with one month's notice. Make sure no day falls in between: driving uninsured is an offence and the RDW checks that automatically, as described at being uninsured.
This page deals with one situation. The full overview is on Compare car insurance.
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Get coveredWhy arrange it through Finass Verzekert?
We look at the terms as well as the premium, and stay your point of contact when there is a claim.
Independent
We are not tied to one insurer and compare on the basis of an objective analysis of several companies.
One fixed adviser
You call or email someone who knows your file. No menu options, no changing call centres.
Switching without hassle
We cancel your old policy and align the start date, so you are never a day without cover.
Help with claims
We report the claim and monitor how it is handled. In urgent cases you can reach us on the emergency line.
Where the five steps go wrong
Four points at which the choice founders, even for those who have compared carefully.
Setting the value after a write-off
Two policies with the same form of cover can differ widely in what they pay. One applies a purchase-value arrangement for the first period, another a fixed depreciation percentage per month, a third market value straight away. Look that provision up before you compare, because it determines the payout more than the word comprehensive does.
Security requirements for theft cover
For sought-after models, insurers impose requirements on the alarm or on a tracking system. Those requirements appear as a clause on the policy and are a condition of cover, not a recommendation. If the prescribed security is not in place at the moment of the theft, there is no payout, however properly the premium has been paid.
Modifications and accessories
Insurers assume the factory specification. A different set of wheels, a towbar, an audio system or an LPG system is only insured if it appears as an item on the policy schedule. Declare it at the outset; declaring it afterwards no longer helps for a loss that has already occurred.
What no car policy covers
Mechanical defects and wear fall outside own-damage cover. Fines are never paid. Damage caused by intent is excluded under Article 7:952 of the Dutch Civil Code, and driving under the influence or without a valid licence costs you your own-damage cover while the third-party insurer recovers its payment from the driver. Hiring out, driving lessons and carrying passengers for hire or reward require an entirely different policy.
What does your premium depend on?
- Type of cover chosen: third-party liability, third-party, fire and theft, or comprehensive
- No-claims years: the steps accrued weigh most heavily in the premium
- Age of the regular driver: young drivers pay a surcharge and often an additional excess
- Mileage band: the declaration has to match the odometer reading
- Postcode and where the vehicle is kept: the chance of theft and of a collision differs from area to area
- Excess and additional modules: passengers, legal expenses and assistance
Insurers weigh these details differently. That is where your saving is.
What is covered
| Situation | Third-party liability + fire and theft | Comprehensive |
|---|---|---|
| Your charging cable is disconnected at a public charging point and taken | Provided that | Yes |
| A short circuit while charging damages the wallbox in your garage | Provided that | Provided that |
| You reverse into your own charging point and knock it over | No | Yes |
| The range of the battery drops noticeably after four years | No | No |
| A hailstorm dents the bonnet while the car is parked on the street | Yes | Yes |
| You are stranded at the side of the motorway with a flat battery and have to be towed | No | No |
The battery, the charging cable and the charging point are treated differently by each insurer; ask for the exact wording before you sign.
Frequently asked questions
This is what people ask us most.
Do I take my no-claims years with me automatically?
In principle yes. Insurers report your claims history to a central register and the new company consults it. It goes wrong where the old policy ended a long time ago, because after a number of years without a policy the accrual lapses. If you are not driving for a while, discuss whether suspending the registration or a cheap third-party cover is the wiser course.
What is a statement of no-claims history?
A confirmation from your previous insurer that the policy has ended, stating the period and the number of no-claims years. Since the central register came in, not every company still asks for it, but after a move to or from abroad or after a long break the document is still the evidence on which the discount is granted.
Can I switch part-way through the term?
After the first contract year you can cancel on any day with most insurers, usually with one month's notice. In the first year you are in principle bound, unless the insurer changes the conditions or the premium to your disadvantage. You then have an option to cancel. Always make sure the new cover starts on the day the old one ends.
Is the cheapest policy a poor choice?
Not by definition, but the price says nothing without the conditions alongside it. Look at how the value is set, the excess, whether glass damage is repaired without consequences for your steps and what help you get after a breakdown abroad. We compare several insurers objectively and assess those points alongside the premium.
Every situation is different. For these situations we have a separate page.
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