Arranging Insurance When Moving in Together: The Complete Savings Guide

Cancel & Convert Duplicate Policies

Consolidating your insurances starts with the core household policies. You never need two separate agreements for the same address. Here are the key steps:

• Personal Liability (AVP): Cancel one partner's policy and adjust the remaining one to a 'family/partner cover'. The surcharge is minimal, but it fully protects both individuals. Compare a liability insurance without commission for the sharpest premium.
• Home Contents (Inboedel): Since all your personal property is now under one roof, you only need one contents policy. The relocating partner can terminate their policy using 'moving in together' as the cancellation trigger. Compare a contents insurance without commission to find the best value.
• Legal Aid & Travel: Maintaining two separate legal aid or continuous travel plans is inefficient. Merging them into a joint policy removes duplicate administrative fees. Compare a legal expenses insurance or travel insurance without commission for better rates.

The Danger of Underinsurance: The Mathematical Reality

When two households combine, the total value of your shared belongings rises. If Partner A has contents insured up to €30,000 and Partner B moves in with an additional €30,000 worth of furniture and electronics, your actual total contents value is €60,000. If you keep Partner A's policy without raising the limit, you are 50% underinsured.

If a water leak subsequently causes €10,000 in damage, the insurer will apply the underinsurance rule: (insured sum / actual value) * damage. In this scenario: (€30,000 / €60,000) * €10,000 = €5,000. The insurer will only pay out €5,000, leaving you to cover the remaining €5,000 out of pocket.

The Second-Car Discount: Massive Savings With a Catch

If both of you own a car, motor insurance is likely your largest premium expense. If one partner has accumulated many claim-free years (no-claims discount) and the other has few (or has been driving a company lease car), the premium for the second vehicle can be punitive. Check our claim-free years premium impact checklist to see how much you can save.

To address this, most Dutch insurers offer the second-car arrangement (tweede autoregeling). Under this rule, the second vehicle is granted the identical no-claims discount percentage (bonus-malus tier) as the primary vehicle. While the actual claim-free years (schadevrije jaren) remain tied to the individual driver, the discount applies immediately to both policies, saving dozens of euros monthly.

However, there is a catch: the actual claim-free years (schadevrije jaren) remain personal. The driver of the second car accumulates their own years over time, but their premium discount is tied to the partner's record. If you split up or switch to a carrier that doesn't offer this arrangement, the driver of the second car will lose the discount and fall back to their actual, lower driving record. Keep this in mind when planning your long-term setup.

The Advantage of a Single Package (Pakketpolis)

Once duplicates are resolved, it pays to bundle all remaining policies (auto, contents, liability, travel) under one insurer's package policy. Dutch insurers reward this consolidation with loyalty discounts:

• Univé: Up to 10% discount (2% for two policies, plus 1% per additional policy).
• a.s.r.: Up to 10% discount (2% for two, scaling up to 10% for six or more policies).
• ABN AMRO: Up to 5% discount (3% for three, 4% for four, 5% for five or more policies).

Consolidating also prevents coverage disputes between different insurers during a claim. Read more about package discounts vs single policies or check the general rules for an insurance package.