Should a vehicle be insured even if not in use?

Verified 01 April 2024 - Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)

Yes, insurance is required for the vehicle you no longer use. However, there is an exception if the vehicle is not in good condition.

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Vehicles in good working order

Yes, it is mandatory to insure the vehicle that you no longer use, as long as it is in good condition to drive.

The insurance must cover at least civil liability.

The insurance obligation concerns all land motor vehicles which must be registered.

These vehicles are:

  • Car (private car, commercial vehicle, unlicensed car), tractors and agricultural machinery
  • Truck
  • Gear at 2 or 3 wheels motorized (motorcycles, scooters) and quads, whether or not non-approved (e.g. mini-motorcycles)
  • Trailer hitched or unhitched

The obligation to provide insurance also concerns certain land motor vehicles which do not need to be registered.

These vehicles are:

  • Light Cyclomobiles : draisienne, electric assisted bicycle with a power exceeding 250w or a speed exceeding 25 km/h etc.
  • EDPM : electric scooters, electric scooter, single wheel, gyropod, hoverboard, etc.
  • Self-worn mowersequipped with a seat which allows the driver to maneuver them

If you are stopped in a vehicle that is not insured, or if your parked vehicle is found to be uninsured, you may be fined up to €3,750.

In addition, you may be sentenced to one or more of the following additional penalties:

Please note

Insurance companies usually offer contracts with lower rates for a vehicle that only moves occasionally.

Vehicle no longer in running order

If your vehicle is no longer fit for use, you do not have to insure it.

But, beware, the vehicle that is no longer in a condition to run is not the one just the vehicle that has broken down.

This is the vehicle that is missing the essential elements to be able to run, namely the wheels, the battery and the fuel tank.

If you have not insured your unused vehicle and there is a police check, you must prove that it is no longer in good condition to drive.

Putting a land motor vehicle into circulation without having insured it is a offense punishable by a fine of €3,750.

Depending on the circumstances, one or more of the following additional penalties may be applied in addition:

  • Works of general interest
  • Fines days (fines set per day)
  • Suspension of driving license (up to 3 years)
  • Cancelation of the driving license and the prohibition to re-pass it for a certain period of time (up to 3 years)
  • Prohibition of driving certain vehicles, even if they do not require a driving license
  • Obligation to complete a road safety awareness course at his own expense
  • Immobilization and/or confiscation of the vehicle with which the offense was committed.

You will only be sentenced to the lump sum fine of €500 if the offense was found by an electronic record and that you have not been convicted in the past for lack of insurance. In this case, the payment of the fine within the prescribed period shall terminate the proceedings.

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