Car Insurance Netherlands 2026: Costs, WA vs WA+ vs Allrisk

Short answer: Car insurance is compulsory in the Netherlands — every registered vehicle needs at least WA (third-party liability) — and Geld.nl’s 2026 monitor puts average monthly premiums at roughly EUR 109.57 for WA, EUR 100.17 for WA+ and EUR 111.49 for allrisk over the first half of 2026. Without recognised claim-free years you get little no-claim discount, so get your foreign years counted before you buy.

Dutch car insurance has its own vocabulary, its own no-claims ladder and its own rules for recognising foreign driving history. Getting those right before you take out the first policy avoids paying for claim-free years you could have had credited.

💡 Looking for a complete banking comparison? Read Best banking for expats in the Netherlands 2026 — covers ABN, ING, Bunq, Wise, Revolut & 5 others by expat use case.

Direct answer: Car insurance in the Netherlands comes in three levels. WA (third-party liability) is legally mandatory for every registered vehicle. WA+ adds cover for theft, fire, storm and window damage to your own car. Allrisk also covers collision damage to your own car, even when it was your fault. Across all drivers who compared on Geld.nl, the average premium in the first half of 2026 was about EUR 110 per month for WA, EUR 100 for WA+ and EUR 111 for allrisk, 12–18% higher than in 2025, so old quotes are a poor guide. Without recognised claim-free years (schadevrije jaren) you get little no-claim discount. Which level fits depends on the car: Univé suggests WA for cars of 9 years and older, WA+ for 6 to 9 years and All Risk up to 6 years. Compare several insurers before you buy rather than going direct to one.

The Dutch Car Insurance System at a Glance

Every Dutch-registered car must have at least WA insurance. The choice of WA, WA+ or allrisk is yours, and the right answer depends on your car’s value and your risk tolerance.

WA: The Legal Minimum

WA stands for Wettelijke Aansprakelijkheid — statutory liability. It covers:

• Damage you cause to other people’s vehicles (their repair costs, even if expensive)
• Injury to third parties including passengers, pedestrians, and cyclists
• Damage to property belonging to others

WA does not cover:

• Damage to your own car from a collision
• Your own injuries (unless covered separately)
• Theft of your car
• Fire damage to your own vehicle

Who WA suits: Univé suggests WA for cars of 9 years and older. On an older, low-value car, the extra premium for wider cover can add up to more than the car is worth over a few years. If someone else hits your car and it is their fault, their WA insurance covers your repair; damage you cause to your own car is yours to pay.

WA+: The Middle Ground

WA+ (also called WA Beperkt Casco or WA Limited Casco) adds own-damage coverage for specific, named risks on top of the WA base:

• Theft, break-in and joyriding
• Fire
• Storm and other natural damage
• Window damage (windscreen, windows)
• Collision with loose animals

(This is the list Univé gives for its WA+; check the exact list in the conditions of the policy you buy.)

WA+ does not cover collision damage to your own car that you cause yourself.

Who WA+ suits: Univé suggests WA+ for cars of 6 to 9 years old. It protects against theft, fire, storm and window damage without paying for full collision cover; Geld.nl cites 7,497 stolen passenger cars in 2025 (VBV figures), 12% more than in 2024. In Geld.nl’s first-half 2026 averages WA+ (EUR 100.17) was not dearer than WA (EUR 109.57); the averages mix different cars and drivers, so price both for your own car.

Allrisk: Full Comprehensive Coverage

Allrisk (Volledig Casco or All In) covers everything in WA+ plus:

• Collision damage to your own car, even if it was your own fault, for example when you reverse into a bollard
• Vandalism (Univé, for example, names fireworks damage and key scratches)

Who allrisk suits: Univé suggests All Risk for cars up to 6 years old; UnitedConsumers calls it the safest choice for a car younger than 5 years or still worth more than EUR 10,000. If you have a car loan or private lease, check whether the contract requires allrisk.

The Schadevrije Jaren System: No-Claims Bonus in the Netherlands

The Dutch no-claims system is called the schadevrije jaren (literally: claim-free years). It works as a step ladder: every year without a fault claim moves you up a step, increasing your discount. Making a fault claim pushes you back several steps, increasing your premium.

How the Ladder Works

Each insurer uses its own ladder, so the discount per step differs. Univé, for example, advertises a no-claim discount of up to 80%, and states that when you claim damage yourself you lose five claim-free years, while damage recovered from another party leaves them intact. If you have a break between cars, Univé states that your claim-free years lapse after 3 years. Ask each insurer for its table before you compare.

How Dutch Insurers Track Your History

Your claim-free years are registered in your name, not in the policy: Univé states that you take them with you when you change insurer. For years built up abroad, see the next section.

For your first policy in the Netherlands, you need to bring your no-claims history from your previous country.

Transferring Your No-Claims Bonus From Abroad

The Document You Need

You need a schadevrije jaren verklaring (no-claims statement) from your previous insurer. This is a formal letter stating:

• The period of your insurance
• The number of claim-free years you accumulated

Contact your previous insurer and ask for this specifically.

Which Countries Are Accepted?

Each Dutch insurer decides for itself. Univé, as an example, states that claim-free years built up in EU countries are often valid in the Netherlands too; it uses them once it has approved the statement from your foreign insurer, and if it does not approve the statement you cannot use those years with Univé. For years built up outside the EU, Univé asks you to contact its customer service. Recognition is not automatic and not necessarily one for one, so ask each insurer how many years it will assign before you buy.

Practical Steps

1. Contact your current or previous insurer in your home country and request a no-claims statement, preferably before you move. Keep the gap short: at Univé, claim-free years lapse after 3 years without a car.
2. Ask the Dutch insurer which languages it accepts for the statement and whether it needs a translation.
3. When getting quotes from Dutch insurers, provide the statement upfront and ask how many schadevrije jaren steps they will assign you. Univé, for example, states that no-claim years from EU countries are often valid in the Netherlands too, provided you hand in a statement from your foreign insurer and Univé approves it (unive.nl, checked 2 October 2026).
4. Compare quotes with your assigned steps included — do not compare base rates.

Average Costs for Expats: What to Expect

Premiums depend on your car, postcode, age, mileage and claim-free years, so no table of typical prices is reliable. The published reference is the Geld.nl monitor below; get quotes for your own car to see where you stand.

2026 market context: premiums rose sharply this year. Geld.nl, which publishes a monitor based on the comparisons made on its site, reports average monthly premiums of EUR 109.57 for WA, EUR 100.17 for WA+ and EUR 111.49 for allrisk in the first half of 2026: increases of 11.6%, 17.9% and 12.2% respectively over 2025. Those averages cover all drivers who compared there. The same monitor shows the average premium at EUR 37.31 a month (EUR 448 a year) above the average lowest premium, so if you have not re-compared since 2025, it is worth checking your renewal quote.

What moves your premium, according to that monitor:

• Driver age: EUR 262.97 a month on average for drivers aged 18 to 20 and EUR 177.01 for 21 to 24, against EUR 93.60 for 35 to 39 and EUR 69.80 for 60 to 64
• Where you live: Rotterdam (EUR 152.94), Amsterdam (EUR 150.42) and Den Haag (EUR 149.30) were the most expensive of the ten largest cities, Almere (EUR 104.59) the cheapest; by province, Zuid-Holland was the most expensive (EUR 119.60) and Friesland the cheapest (EUR 82.54)
• Car make: from EUR 95.88 (Citroën) to EUR 145.91 (BMW) among the 15 most popular makes
• Excess (eigen risico): a higher excess generally lowers the premium (Univé: “hoe hoger het eigen risico, hoe lager de premie”)

There is no single cheapest insurer in the Netherlands. Dutch insurers price by postcode, car, age, mileage and schadevrije jaren, so the cheapest provider for your neighbour is often not the cheapest for you. What does work is a repeatable method.

1. Pick the right coverage level first, not the lowest price. The right level depends on your car’s value and age and on your cash buffer: compare the premium difference between WA, WA+ and allrisk with what you could afford to lose. Univé, for example, suggests WA for cars of 9 years and older, WA+ for 6 to 9 years and All Risk up to 6 years. Downgrading from allrisk to WA on a EUR 25,000 car lowers your premium and exposes you to the full EUR 25,000 loss.

2. Compare several insurers. A direct quote only tells you what one company charges. A comparison shows whether your current premium is mid-market or an outlier; Geld.nl measured an average gap of EUR 89.38 a month between the highest and lowest premium in its first-half 2026 comparisons.

Dutch comparison platforms do this in one pass, and UnitedConsumers compares car policies from seven insurers. Which cover level suits which car and driver is worked through in car insurance by driver profile.

3. Get your schadevrije jaren counted before you buy. Ask each insurer, in writing, how many years of your foreign history they will recognise — each recognised year raises your discount, and Univé, for example, advertises up to 80% no-claim discount.

4. Raise the eigen risico (excess) deliberately. A higher voluntary excess lowers the premium. Set it at an amount you could actually pay tomorrow without borrowing, and pocket the difference.

5. Check what you are paying twice for. Breakdown assistance on the car policy can overlap with an ANWB Wegenwacht membership, and traffic legal assistance with a standalone rechtsbijstandverzekering. Strip the add-ons you already own.

6. Re-compare at every renewal. Geld.nl notes that the differences between insurers grew in 2026, so last year’s cheapest policy is not necessarily this year’s.

What to check before you click “buy” on the cheapest result: whether repairs have to go through a contracted repair network, whether the policy covers you elsewhere in Europe (the countries on your green card), how a claim affects your schadevrije jaren, and the notice period for cancellation.

Insurers to Compare

Centraal Beheer

A Dutch insurer that sells its car insurance online. Its car insurance page lists WA, WA+ Beperkt Casco and All Risk, optional add-ons such as passenger insurance, traffic legal assistance and 24/7 breakdown assistance in the Netherlands or Europe, purchase-value or new-value cover on WA+ and All Risk, and a separate section on collective discounts (collectiviteitskorting) (centraalbeheer.nl, checked 5 October 2026).

Interpolis (via Rabobank)

Relevant if you bank with Rabobank: Interpolis car insurance is taken out via Rabobank and can be managed in the Rabo App. It offers two car policies, the Alles in één Polis and AutoBewust, and within the Alles in één Polis the package discount for combining several insurances can reach 12% (interpolis.nl, checked 5 October 2026).

Univé

A Dutch insurer that describes itself as a cooperative without a profit motive (“geen winstoogmerk”). What it publishes about its car insurance (unive.nl, checked 30 September 2026):

• Cover levels: WA, WA+ (beperkt casco) and All Risk (volledig casco). Univé itself suggests WA for cars of 9 years and older, WA+ for 6 to 9 years and All Risk up to 6 years.
• Foreign driving history: Univé states that no-claim years from EU countries are often valid in the Netherlands too, provided you hand in a statement from your foreign insurer and Univé approves it. The no-claim discount can reach 80%.
• Deductible: none on WA; €150 per claim as standard on WA+ and All Risk, with a higher or lower amount selectable. Windscreen repair by a Univé repairer costs nothing; windscreen replacement carries the €150.
• Extras: passenger insurance up to €1,000,000 per accident, 24/7 breakdown assistance, legal assistance for traffic, own choice of repair shop (at a higher premium), and new-value cover (new cars) or purchase-value cover (second-hand cars): the first year is free on WA+ and All Risk and can be extended to three years, for an insured amount or original new value of at most €85,000 (Univé).
• To apply: registration number, the date the car was registered in your name, the meldcode, your claim-free years and a bank account number. The policy can be cancelled daily.
• Language: the site and conditions are in Dutch; advice by phone, WhatsApp and live chat.

Calculate your Univé car insurance premium →

ANWB Autoverzekering

The ANWB is the Dutch motoring association, known for its Wegenwacht roadside assistance (a separate membership product). Its car insurance comes in WA, Beperkt Casco and Volledig Casco (all risk), with 24/7 help from the ANWB Alarmcentrale, up to 80% no-claim discount and up to 30 days of replacement transport after damage; there is also a Veilig Rijden variant that tracks your driving in an app and can give up to 30% extra discount (anwb.nl, checked 5 October 2026).

Online Comparison First, Then Direct

A practical order is to compare first, then go direct if you want to discuss your foreign history in detail.

Comparison Platforms

Dutch insurance comparison platforms let you compare policies from many insurers and filter by coverage type, excess and optional add-ons; they are in Dutch. Whichever you use, the sequence is the same:

1. Enter your postcode, car registration (kenteken) and annual mileage
2. Select your coverage type (WA, WA+ or allrisk)
3. Enter your schadevrije jaren step
4. Compare the results on excess (eigen risico) and conditions, not only the monthly premium
5. Complete the application with the insurer itself

How much a comparison saves you depends entirely on your car, postcode and schadevrije jaren, so treat any headline saving figure with caution and compare your own quotes.

The Third Route: UnitedConsumers

A comparison site and a direct insurer are not the only two options. UnitedConsumers describes its mission as making fixed costs cheaper “door samen groot in te kopen” (by buying in bulk together). For car insurance it compares policies from seven insurers (Allianz Direct, a.s.r., Avéro, Bovemij, Nationale-Nederlanden, ZERO and Rhion) across the same three cover levels used here: WA, WA beperkt casco and WA casco (all risk). You enter your registration number, postcode, schadevrije jaren and start date to get a premium, and you get a free Pluspakket with a verhaalservice, an annual premium check and a fuel card. UnitedConsumers runs a monthly promotion on the premium, so check the current one on its site. Its car insurance page advertises “Vergelijk & bespaar gemiddeld € 315,00 per jaar” (compare and save an average of EUR 315 a year); that is the provider’s own figure (unitedconsumers.com/autoverzekering, checked 5 October 2026).

Seven insurers is a meaningful slice of the market but not the whole market, so treat a UnitedConsumers quote as one of the quotes you compare. Its site and comparison are in Dutch.

Check UnitedConsumers →

Optional Extras: What’s Worth Adding

Most Dutch car insurance policies offer optional add-ons:

Breakdown Assistance (Pechhulp)

Roadside recovery in the Netherlands and sometimes Europe. Worth considering if you do not have ANWB membership or another recovery service.

Legal Assistance (Rechtsbijstand)

Legal cover for disputes arising from road accidents. Particularly useful if you have an accident and need to pursue a third party. If you already have a general legal expenses insurance policy (rechtsbijstandverzekering), you may already be covered.

Driver Accident Insurance (Schadeverzekering Inzittenden)

Covers injury to you and your passengers in an accident. WA covers other people; this covers you. Relevant if you do not have other personal accident or disability cover.

Replacement Transport (Vervangend Vervoer)

Provides a rental car or transport costs while your car is being repaired. Useful if you depend on your car.

Registering Your Car and Insuring It

WA insurance is legally mandatory for every vehicle registered in the Netherlands, so registration (with the RDW, the Rijksdienst voor het Wegverkeer) and insurance go together. The order depends on the vehicle. For a car bought from a Dutch dealer, ask the dealer whether it arranges the registration in your name. For an imported car on foreign plates, follow the RDW’s import steps and ask your insurer at which point the policy can start.

Read our full guide to registering a car in the Netherlands as an expat for the complete step-by-step process.

Making a Claim: How It Works

If you have an accident:

1. Get the details of the other driver: name, address, policy number, insurer name and registration number, ideally on a European accident statement (Europees schadeformulier) that you fill in together. Insurers such as Univé offer the form on their website.
2. Report to your insurer: Univé and Centraal Beheer have an online “schade melden” route, and the ANWB has a 24/7 Alarmcentrale for its car insurance.
3. Document everything — photos of the damage, the scene, and any witnesses’ contact details.
4. Do not admit fault at the scene — discuss this with your insurer first.

For damage where the other party is at fault, their WA insurance pays for your repair. If you have allrisk and the damage is your own fault, your allrisk covers the repair of your car (minus your excess).

Switching Insurers in the Netherlands

If you are already insured and want to switch, check the notice period in your current policy; Univé, for example, states that its car insurance can be cancelled daily (dagelijks opzegbaar). UnitedConsumers advises cancelling your old policy only after the new insurer has accepted you. Your schadevrije jaren are registered in your name and go with you when you change insurer (Univé).

When to review your policy:

• At the annual renewal date
• When your car changes significantly in value
• After one or two claim-free years push you up the ladder significantly
• When your circumstances change (lower mileage, a new address)

Running a comparison at renewal each year shows whether your current premium is still competitive; Geld.nl found an average gap of EUR 37.31 a month between the average and the average lowest premium in its first-half 2026 comparisons.

What Happens If You Are in an Accident

At the Scene

The first priority is safety. If anyone is injured, call 112. For minor damage-only accidents, the Dutch process is:

1. Move vehicles off the road if possible and safe
2. Exchange details with the other driver: name, address, phone number, insurer name, policy number, and vehicle registration
3. Complete a European accident statement (Europees schadeformulier) together if available. Insurers such as Univé offer the form on their website; keep a blank copy in your glovebox
4. Take photos of both vehicles, the damage, the road position, and any relevant traffic signs
5. Note the names and contact details of any witnesses

Do not accept fault or make payments at the scene. The insurers sort out liability.

Reporting the Claim

Contact your insurer as soon as possible. The ANWB, for example, has a 24/7 Alarmcentrale for damage, and Univé offers a 24/7 alarm centre, live chat and WhatsApp.

Your insurer will tell you whether to take the car to one of its contracted repair shops or to a shop of your own choice. At Univé, repair at a Univé repair shop is the standard, and a free choice of repair shop is an option at a higher premium.

After a Fault Claim

Your schadevrije jaren will drop. Univé, for example, states that if you claim damage yourself you lose five claim-free years, while damage recovered from another party leaves your years intact. Other insurers use their own rules, so ask yours. Fewer claim-free years means a lower no-claim discount and so a higher premium. Some insurers soften this for long claim-free records: Univé states that after 15 claim-free years you keep the maximum 80% discount after one claim.

Insuring an Imported or Foreign-Registered Vehicle

If you are bringing a car from another country, the process depends on your situation:

EU-registered vehicle: Once you are registered in the BRP you generally may not drive a car with a foreign number plate in the Netherlands; the car has to be registered with the RDW and given a Dutch plate, which also means Dutch insurance (Netherlands Worldwide, ‘Hoelang mag ik in Nederland rijden in een auto met buitenlands kenteken?’). Check the exceptions that apply to your situation on that page before you drive.

Non-EU-registered vehicle: the same BRP rule applies; importing means registering the car with the RDW, which may involve customs formalities first. Ask your insurer when the Dutch policy can start, as it goes together with the registration.

Company car or lease: If your employer provides a car, insurance is usually arranged by the leasing company or employer. Confirm what coverage you have and whether it extends to personal use and family members.

Related reading: Register a Car in the Netherlands as an Expat | Driving in the Netherlands Guide | Exchange Your Driving Licence in the Netherlands | Best Internet Providers Netherlands | OV Chipkaart Guide for Expats

External source: RDW — Driving with a foreign driving licence — official information on how long you may drive on a foreign licence.