A first home · renting or buying · covered or not
What should you insure when you move into a place of your own?
With your first home of your own you fall outside your parents' policies from one day to the next. Which insurances you need depends mainly on whether you rent or buy.
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Deze pagina in het Nederlands: Wat moet u verzekeren als u op uzelf gaat wonen?.
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A premium indication, not personal advice. Prefer to talk it through? Call 072 - 509 24 56.
In brief
If you buy, buildings insurance is the first thing to arrange: your lender almost always requires it, and the property is the security for your loan. If you rent, the landlord insures the building and you do not need that policy. You are, however, liable towards the landlord for damage to the rented property, and what you installed yourself, such as a floor or a kitchen, is your own risk under the heading of tenant's improvements.
In both cases you need home contents insurance . Do not underestimate its value: a bed, sofa, washing machine, bicycle, laptop and tools add up faster than expected. Just as important is liability insurance. If your washing machine overflows into the flat below, that is someone else's loss and not your own, and Article 6:162 of the Dutch Civil Code makes you liable for it as soon as you have acted carelessly.
Pay close attention to what falls away. Your parents' contents and liability cover continues for as long as you are a student living away from home and registered at their address, but it stops as soon as you live independently and no longer belong to their household. Your health insurance is also always your own contract from the age of eighteen. If you are living in rooms temporarily, first look at home contents insurance for students.
This page deals with one situation. The full overview is on Compare buildings insurance (opstalverzekering).
What to arrange in each situation
Four choices that most first-time householders come up against.
If you rent: tenant's improvements and liability
A rented home is often handed over bare. Everything you fix in place after that is tenant's improvements and you include it on the contents policy. You are also liable for damage to the rented property; fire damage caused by your own carelessness comes back to you through the landlord or their insurer.
If you buy: buildings, value and mortgage
Have the rebuild value and do not insure the purchase price; the land is not lost in a fire. Arrange the policy from the day of transfer, not from the day you move in. Do not withhold room letting or a business at home: Article 7:928 of the Dutch Civil Code requires you to declare correctly and Article 7:930 of the Dutch Civil Code determines the consequences if that is not correct.
Disputes about the home
Legal expenses insurance is not compulsory, but disputes about defects, service charges, a contractor or a neighbour are the most common legal issues with a first home. Watch out for the waiting period: a dispute that was already running when you took out the policy is not covered. See legal expenses insurance for private individuals.
What is not covered and where you are on your own
Theft without signs of forced entry to your home is a classic refusal, as is damage to housemates' belongings in which you have no interest. Valuables such as jewellery and expensive electronics have a separate limit on the contents policy. Damage during a move and damage caused by a removal firm belong with that firm, not on your own policy.
What does your premium depend on?
- Renting or buying — determines whether buildings cover is needed
- Value of the home contents — established with a contents value calculator
- Postcode and security measures — burglary risk differs considerably by area
- Number of occupants and living together — determines who counts as an insured person
- Type of cover chosen — extended or comprehensive for contents and buildings
- Excess — a higher excess brings the premium down
Insurers weigh these details differently. That is why comparing pays off.
What is covered
| Situation | Rented home | Owner-occupied home |
|---|---|---|
| A fire that destroys the roof and walls of your home | No | Yes |
| The floor and the kitchen you had installed yourself | Yes | Yes |
| Your bath overflows and the plastered ceiling below is saturated | Provided that | Yes |
| A boiler that needs replacing after fifteen years | No | No |
| Your bicycle is stolen from the communal storeroom | Provided that | Provided that |
| Your housemate rides their bicycle into the neighbour's car and dents it | No | No |
A housemate is not a family member: anyone sharing a home without a joint household needs their own liability insurance.
Frequently asked questions
The questions we are asked most often about this.
Am I still covered on my parents' policy?
As a student living away from home, often yes, provided you are still counted as part of your parents' household. If you start living independently, working or living with a partner, that cover usually lapses. Take out your own contents and liability insurance before the moving date, so that there is no day without cover. Check that expressly with your parents' insurer too.
Do I need home contents insurance if I own little?
Usually yes. A contents value calculator comes out higher than people estimate, because kitchen equipment, clothing, bicycles and electronics count too. More importantly: after a fire or a major leak you lose everything at once and have to buy it all again. Too low a sum insured also leads to underinsurance, where payment is made in proportion.
What if I cause damage to the neighbours?
That is a liability matter. If your bathroom overflows and that damages the neighbours' ceiling, your liability insurance pays for their loss, provided you acted wrongfully within the meaning of Article 6:162 of the Dutch Civil Code. Your own floor falls under your own contents or buildings policy. Report such a loss to both insurers straight away.
Should I take out funeral or term life insurance?
That is not a housing question but depends on your situation. If you have a mortgage together with a partner, it is sensible to consider what happens if one of the two incomes falls away. If you are single without debts or dependants, that need is much smaller. Start with the covers that deal with your housing risk.