Untangling Your Insurance During a Divorce: What You Need to Do Right Now

1. The Shared Home: Contents, Buildings, and Underinsurance Risks

As long as you both reside under the same roof, your current home insurances (opstal for buildings, inboedel for contents) usually remain active. The critical juncture occurs the day one partner registers at a new address with the municipality. From that day forward, the departing partner's belongings and actions are often no longer protected by the joint policy. This requires deciding between an insurance package or single policies and taking specific actions:

• For the partner staying: Contact your provider to remove your ex-partner's name from the contract. Because belongings (furniture, electronics) will leave the house, your total contents value will drop. Fill out a new 'contents valuation meter' (inboedelwaardemeter) to lower your monthly premium while maintaining your underinsurance guarantee.
• For the departing partner: Do not wait until you are fully settled. Ensure that you have a new contents insurance without commission active on the day you receive the keys to your new home or rental. If a fire or leak destroys your new apartment and you haven't set this up, you may bear the cost of replacing your belongings.

2. Personal Liability (AVP): Prevent a Coverage Gap

The Dutch Personal Liability Insurance (Aansprakelijkheidsverzekering Particulieren or AVP) is arguably one of the most vital policies you own. A joint policy almost always features 'family' or 'partner' coverage. A common risk with AVP is that it is strictly tied to the primary residential address. If one partner moves out permanently, they are often removed from coverage.

If the departing partner accidentally causes severe injury to someone else (for example, hitting a pedestrian while cycling) during those first weeks, they could face significant financial consequences. The solution is straightforward but requires proactive communication: the primary policyholder must switch the current AVP to a 'single person' (or 'single parent') policy, and the departing partner should purchase a new AVP online. This is also a good moment to compare package discounts vs single policies for your new household.

3. Car Insurance: Equitably Dividing Claim-Free Years

Vehicles are frequently a major point of contention during a divorce—not just the car's physical value, but the accumulated 'claim-free years' (schadevrije jaren). In the Netherlands, these years are typically registered to the primary policyholder. If you have driven accident-free for 10 years, the partner who isn't named on the contract may legally drop back to 0 years post-divorce, resulting in higher premiums for their new vehicle.

Fortunately, the Dutch system often offers a solution: the afstandsverklaring schadevrije jaren (waiver of claim-free years). This official document allows the primary policyholder to legally transfer a specific number of years to their ex-partner. A common approach is dividing the years accumulated specifically during the marriage in half. Use our claim-free years impact checklist to calculate the premium effect on both new policies. Note: Both parties must sign this form, and it must be processed in the central 'Roy-data' database before the original policy is canceled. To check your registered claim-free years, you can consult Stichting EPS.

4. Travel and Legal Expenses: Split Family Cover

Continuous travel insurance and legal expenses policies often use family or partner cover. Once you no longer live at the same address, cover for the ex-partner may lapse, or the administration may keep running while the actual household no longer matches the policy.