Shopping around for car insurance can save you up to €200 a year, so it is well worth checking out the options.

So, you’ve finally got a car of your own, or are thinking about buying a nifty little sports number for the summer? Buying a car can be one of the most expensive purchases you will make but the insurance need not cost an arm and a leg.

For the first time in years, the cost of car insurance has been going down, according to research by comparison website Autoverzekering.nl. In 2020, the drop in premiums ranged from 2% to 8%, depending on the type of insurance, and that is still having an impact in 2021.

Fewer stolen cars

The main reason for the decline is the downturn in car theft – which has a key role in setting insurance fees. In 2016, 13,224 cars were reported stolen to the police but by last year the total had fallen to 9,671.

There were wide regional variations. In Amsterdam, for example, the number of car thefts fell by 16%, but there was an actual increase in Overijssel, Zeeland and Groningen. And this is why insurance companies take your postcode into account when deciding how high your insurance premiums should be.

Like in most countries, Dutch insurance companies also look at your age and experience, and your premiums will also go down the more years you drive without making a claim – a discount that can mount up to 70%.

Best deal

So how do you start finding the best deal for you? A specialist website such as Autoverzekering.nl is a good place to compare car insurance. The website, which is completely independent, lets you compare 28 different Dutch car insurance companies to find the best deal – and offers practical advice as well.

In principle, you need to choose between three different types of insurance: WA coverage (third-party liability), WA + (third-party liability + limited cover) and all-risk (third-party liability + comprehensive cover).

Which to pick depends on the age and value of your car. A 10-year-old Toyota Auris, for example, would cost from €56 a month to insure for third party liability (WA) via Ohra and SNS, and online advisor Jerry says it would not be financially worth going for all risk coverage because of its age.

By contrast a one-year-old Volkswagen Tiguan should have all risk insurance because of the value of the car. Ohra offers this via the website for €105 a month. To check the best deal for you, add your car number plate, address and date of birth to the system and see what the website comes up with.

Saving money

There are other things you should do to make sure you have the best insurance deal as well as checking on price.

If you drive more kilometres a year than you have told your insurance company, it could count against you if you do have damage that needs repairing. So keep an eye on your mileage.

And as your car gets older, consider down grading the level of insurance that you have because if you do have an accident, or it gets written off, you may not get enough money back to make those hefty premiums worth it.

And make a note of when your insurance policy is due to expire, so you can check out what your insurer plans to charge you the next year – and if it is still the best deal.

One thing to remember about Dutch car insurance is that it is your car which is insured not you personally, so family members and friends can drive it without having their names added to the policy – useful to know if you want to share the car with your partner or friends.