# WA, WA+ or allrisk: Dutch car cover levels

Updated 24 September 2026. https://cushly.eu/guides/wa-wa-plus-allrisk/

**Short answer:** WA is the only cover Dutch law requires. It pays damage you cause to others and never damage to your own car. WA+ (beperkt casco) adds fire, theft, storm and glass damage to your own car, while allrisk (volledig casco) also pays when you damage your own car yourself.

## Which car insurance is compulsory in the Netherlands?

If a number plate is registered in your name, you must hold WA insurance for that vehicle. That is the Wet aansprakelijkheidsverzekering motorrijtuigen (WAM), the motor liability law. The Rijksoverheid states the duty plainly: owners of a car, motorbike, scooter or moped insure WA with an insurer of their choice.

The duty starts the day the plate moves to your name, and the RDW keeps a register of which plates carry cover. Insurers report each policy to that register, and the RDW checks plates against it. If you stop using the car for a long period, you can suspend the plate at the RDW (schorsen). During a suspension you pay no road tax and need no WA insurance, but the car may not stand on a public road or be driven.

WA covers your liability: damage your car causes to other people, their cars and their property. It pays nothing for your own car. It also covers damage caused by someone else driving your car with your permission, because the policy sits on the car rather than on the driver.

## What do WA, WA+ and allrisk cover?

Dutch insurers sell three standard levels. WA is liability only. WA+, formally WA beperkt casco, adds a fixed list of damage types to your own car. Allrisk, formally WA volledig casco, adds damage to your own car that you cause yourself. The table below follows the comparison the Consumentenbond publishes.

| Damage | WA | WA+ | Allrisk |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Damage you cause to others | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Theft and break-in | No | Yes | Yes |
| Glass damage | No | Yes | Yes |
| Fire, storm and hail | No | Yes | Yes |
| Hitting an animal | No | Yes | Yes |
| Crash you cause yourself | No | No | Yes |
| Vandalism to your car | No | No | Yes |

## What does WA+ add over WA?

WA+ pays for the classic bad-luck list: the car is stolen or broken into, a stone cracks the windscreen, a storm drops a branch on the roof, fire damages the engine bay, or a deer crosses the road at night. None of these is your fault, and none would be paid under WA alone.

What WA+ never pays is damage you cause to your own car by your own driving. If you misjudge a parking garage pillar or slide off a wet road into a ditch, the repair bill stays yours. That single gap is the whole difference between WA+ and allrisk.

## How does eigen risico work?

Eigen risico is the part of each own-car claim you pay yourself. The insurer pays the rest. It applies per claim, not per year: two separate claims in one year means you pay it twice. It never applies to the WA part, so damage you cause to others is always paid in full.

The amount is fixed in your policy terms and differs per insurer and per damage type. Glass repair often carries a lower amount than theft or collision, and some insurers let you buy the excess down to zero against a higher premium. Read the figure for each damage type before you sign, because a cheap premium with a high excess can cost more after one claim.

## When is allrisk worth it for a new EV?

Allrisk exists for the years when your car is worth too much to lose. A new EV carries a high purchase price, and body and battery repairs run through specialised shops, so one at-fault crash without allrisk can wipe out years of saved premiums. The Consumentenbond uses a rule of thumb, confirmed on its page as of September 2026: allrisk for cars up to about 6 years old, WA+ from about 6 to 10 years, and WA above that.

Treat that rule as a starting point and weigh it against your own car. A 7-year-old EV with a high market value can still deserve allrisk, while a small petrol car of the same age may not. If a loan still rests on the car, lenders often expect full cover until the loan is repaid, so check the loan terms too.

For a new car, also read the new-value clause (nieuwwaarderegeling). Some policies pay the purchase price if the car is written off in the first year or two, others pay only the market value from day one. That clause decides what you can actually buy after a total loss.

## What to check before you sign

Look past the premium at four lines in the terms: the eigen risico per damage type, the new-value or second-hand-value clause, the exclusions such as drink-driving or unlicensed driving, and whether limited-casco claims affect your no-claim years. An at-fault claim on the allrisk part can cost you claim-free years and raise next year premium, while a theft or storm claim under WA+ usually leaves them alone.

If the car drives with FSD (Supervised), report it honestly on the application and after any crash. How insurers treat such a crash is in [FSD crash in Europe: who pays for the damage?](https://cushly.eu/guides/fsd-crash-who-pays/).

## Questions

### Is WA enough for an old car?

Often yes. Once the market value drops below what extra premiums and excess would cost over a few years, WA alone is the rational choice. Check the market value first rather than guessing.

### Does WA+ pay for a crash I cause myself?

No. Damage to your own car by your own driving is the one thing WA+ excludes. Only allrisk pays it, minus your eigen risico.

### Do I lose no-claim years after a WA+ claim?

A theft, fire, storm or glass claim under the limited-casco part usually leaves your claim-free years alone. An at-fault claim can cost you years and raise your premium.

### Can I pause WA if the car sits unused?

Yes, by suspending the plate at the RDW. During suspension you need no WA insurance, but the car may not use public roads at all.

### Does FSD (Supervised) change my cover level?

No. The three levels work the same whether you steered or FSD (Supervised) steered under your supervision. You stay the driver in law either way.

## Sources

- [Rijksoverheid: WA-verzekering voor motorrijtuigen](https://www.rijksoverheid.nl/vraag-en-antwoord/auto/wa-verzekering-voertuig)
- [Wet aansprakelijkheidsverzekering motorrijtuigen (wetten.overheid.nl)](https://wetten.overheid.nl/BWBR0002415/2025-07-01)
- [Consumentenbond: soorten autoverzekeringen](https://www.consumentenbond.nl/autoverzekering/soorten-autoverzekering)

_General information, not advice on your policy. Cushly is not Tesla and not an insurer._