Waarborgfonds · recovery · registration
What happens if you are not insured?
Without cover nothing stops: the victim is still paid for their loss. The only difference is that the bill then comes to you through a recovery action, year after year.
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Deze pagina in het Nederlands: Wat gebeurt er als u niet verzekerd bent?.
The calculator and the quote form below are in Dutch. Prefer to do this in English? Email info@finassverzekert. nl or call 072 - 509 24 56 and we will take it from there.
Work out for yourself what it would cost.
Enter your details; you will receive a proposal within one working day.
- 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.
In brief
There are two ways of being uninsured. The first is administrative: the registration is in your name, there is no policy in force and the vehicle has not been suspended. The RDW (the Dutch vehicle authority) compares the vehicle register with insurance records and picks that up automatically, without your ever having to use the road. That leads to a sanction, and if it happens again another one follows. The second way is quieter: the policy exists, but cover has been suspended for non-payment. On paper you are a customer. In reality there is no cover at that moment.
If you cause an accident without cover, the victim is not left empty-handed. They can turn to the Waarborgfonds Motorverkeer, which pays for damage where the party at fault is uninsured or unidentified. The fund pays out and then recovers the full amount from you, including the costs of assessment. With personal injury that recovery action runs on for as long as the claim file itself, and a payment arrangement changes nothing about the size of the claim.
On top of that you are on your own legally. There is no insurer to conduct the defence or to have a loss assessment carried out, while you can still be held liable under Article 6:162 of the Dutch Civil Code. Your own car is of course not insured either. And what makes obtaining insurance harder afterwards: a cancellation for non-payment or fraud can lead to registration in an external referral register, and every company sees that registration when assessing an application. See also the hub page on car insurance.
This page deals with one situation. The full overview is on Compare car insurance.
What happens, step by step
Four consequences that follow one another as soon as there is no valid cover.
The fund's recovery action has no upper limit
The Waarborgfonds Motorverkeer pays the injured party and then steps into their rights. With material damage that stays manageable; with injury it involves loss of earning capacity, care costs and compensation for pain and suffering together. That claim is recovered against your assets and income and does not disappear because you cannot spare the money.
Suspended cover feels like being insured
If you do not pay the premium, the insurer may suspend cover after a reminder. The policy is then still in your records, but a loss during that period is not paid. If a direct debit is reversed, always check whether the cover is still in force; reinstatement is almost never retrospective.
A suspended registration does not cover your vehicle
Suspending the registration with the RDW removes the insurance obligation, but it is not insurance. While it is suspended the vehicle may not stand on or use the public road, and own-damage cover for fire, theft and storm usually lapses. If the car stays on the street, you are both uninsured and in breach.
What remains uninsured even with a policy
A valid policy is no guarantee of payment. Damage caused deliberately is excluded under Article 7:952 of the Dutch Civil Code, driving without a valid licence or under the influence leads to recovery from the driver, and details withheld on the application take effect through Article 7:930 DCC. Traffic fines can never be insured.
What does your premium depend on?
- A break in your insurance history: a gap of a few months raises questions when cover is assessed
- The reason for a previous termination: cancellation by you counts differently from cancellation by the company
- Registration in a referral register: limits the number of companies willing to accept the risk
- Number and nature of previous claims: at-fault claims count more heavily than glass claims
- How and how often the premium is paid: direct debit annually or monthly
- The form of cover chosen when starting again: a third-party liability policy is accepted more readily than comprehensive cover
Insurers weigh these details differently. That is where your saving is.
What is covered
| Situation | With a third-party liability policy | Without a policy |
|---|---|---|
| The injuries of the cyclist you hit while reversing out of a parking space | Yes | No |
| The legal and loss adjustment costs of disputing an unjustified claim | Yes | No |
| The hire car the victim needs while their car is in the garage | Yes | No |
| An injury claim that rises years later because the medical position deteriorates | Yes | No |
| The damage to your own car after that same collision | No | No |
| The penalty for a registration in your name that is uninsured and not suspended | No | No |
The right-hand column does not say that nobody pays, but that the amount comes back to you through a recovery action.
Frequently asked questions
This is what people ask us most.
I have sold my car but the insurance is still running. Is that a problem?
You are then paying premium for a vehicle you no longer have, while the buyer has to insure it themselves. Cancel the policy as soon as the transfer is registered and keep the proof. The other way round is riskier: if the registration is still in your name and the insurance has already ended, you are the one treated as the uninsured keeper.
Can the Waarborgfonds Motorverkeer still come after me years later?
Yes. A personal injury file is only settled once the medical position is stable, and that can take a long time. The fund steps into the victim's rights and keeps the recovery claim open for as long as it runs. So keep all correspondence about the accident, even if little seems to be happening at first.
Will I still be able to get insurance after a cancellation?
Usually yes, although the choice is smaller and the premium higher. There are companies that focus on risks refused elsewhere. What matters is that you complete the application fully, including the final question about previous refusals and terminations; withholding that creates a new problem under Articles 7:928 and 7:930 of the Dutch Civil Code.
Am I liable if someone else drives my car uninsured?
As the registered keeper you carry the insurance obligation under Article 2 WAM, whoever is behind the wheel. If there is no cover, you are the one held responsible. If someone else drives with your permission and there is a policy, that driver is normally covered, but a claim then simply counts against your no-claims years.