Insurance for traffic

In brief

Every motor policy starts from the same point. Article 2 of the Dutch Motor Insurance Liability Act (WAM) requires the owner or keeper of a motor vehicle to take out insurance covering liability for damage to third parties. That obligation runs for as long as the registration number is in your name, even if the vehicle is not being used. It lapses only if the registration is suspended. The RDW (the Dutch vehicle authority) checks this automatically, and driving uninsured leads to a penalty and ultimately to seizure of the vehicle. If an uninsured or unidentified driver causes damage, the victim can turn to the Waarborgfonds Motorverkeer, which then recovers the amount from the party at fault.

Third-party liability cover does one thing: it pays for the damage you cause with the vehicle to others, both material damage and injury. Your own vehicle and your own injuries fall outside it. If you want those covered too, you choose third-party, fire and theft for events that are not your fault (theft, fire, storm, glass damage, collision with an animal) or comprehensive cover, which also covers damage you cause yourself. For your own injuries there is occupants' accident insurance, which also pays out when you caused the collision yourself.

It is also worth looking at motor vehicle legal expenses. If you have suffered a loss and the other party will not pay, own-damage cover alone does not get you any further: recovering damage, injury and consequential loss calls for legal follow-up. A dispute with a garage or a seller also falls under this module. Caravans, trailers and bicycles have their own rules; a coupled trailer falls under the third-party liability cover of the towing vehicle, but damage to the trailer itself does not.