Total loss, car theft and pay-per-km premiums: when you disagree with your insurer

In short

If the other driver was liable, their insurer pays the replacement value of your car, meaning the amount needed to buy a similar car. Under your own comprehensive cover, the type of value and the depreciation table in your policy apply.

You can challenge the value set by the loss adjuster. Under your own comprehensive cover the right to appoint your own expert is written into the law, and the insurer advances the fees (Insurance Act, art. 111/1).

A clause saying “theft is not covered if the keys were left in the car” is often a forfeiture (déchéance). The insurer must show the link between the key and the theft; this also applies to a spare key left in the boot (Court of Cassation, 20.9.2012 and 5.2.2016).

Under a pay-per-km policy, an extra premium can only be based on a calculation clearly set out in the policy. Ask for the breakdown in writing.

The Insurance Ombudsman is free. You generally have 3 years to take your insurer to court.

My insurer wrote off my car at too low a value: how do I challenge the market value?

First establish who is paying: the other party’s compulsory motor liability insurer (RC auto / BA auto) or your own comprehensive cover (omnium)? The calculation differs.

If the other party was liable. The principle of full compensation applies. If repairs cost more than the car is worth, it is an “economic total loss” (perte totale économique) and you receive the replacement value (valeur de remplacement / vervangingswaarde). The Court of Cassation defines this as the amount needed to acquire a similar vehicle, not the price you would get if you sold your car today (Cass. 5.10.2018, C.18.0145.N; Cass. 17.9.2020, C.18.0294.F). For accidents after 1.1.2025 the same rule is written into Civil Code art. 6.38. The wreck value (valeur de l’épave) is deducted. You can also claim:

the time you could not use the car between the accident and the total-loss decision (chômage d’attente);
a reasonable period to find a replacement (délai de mutation). Without specific evidence, 15 days is applied in practice. If you did not use a hire car, you can claim €23 per day for a car for the days you were without it (Tableau indicatif 2024). If you accept the flat-rate periods in the expert report (often 6 days), you are bound by them, so add a reservation to the report;
administrative costs (€50-150 depending on the complexity of the file under the Tableau indicatif 2024) and registration costs.

If you are not registered for VAT, the replacement value includes VAT, whether or not you actually replace the car. The Court of Cassation changed its case law on this in 1988: for someone who cannot deduct VAT, the amount needed to acquire a similar car includes the tax (Cass. 13.4.1988 and 20.9.1988).

You may use the compensation as you wish (Insurance Act, art. 147). The other party’s insurer must make a reasoned offer within 3 months (1989 Act, art. 13-14).

If it is your own comprehensive cover. The policy decides the value: catalogue value, invoice value, agreed value (valeur agréée) or actual value, and the depreciation table applied to it. An agreed value binds the insurer unless there is fraud (art. 109). Courts apply the table in the policy, but the insurer cannot make a deduction that has no basis in the contract; the Liège Court of Appeal rejected a deduction for “old scratches” (13.11.2017). The registration tax (TMC) may be added to the total-loss payment (Liège Court of Appeal, 6.11.2017).

Expert report and counter-expert. In Belgium motor loss adjusters usually make their calculations on the Informex platform, and bids for the wreck are mostly collected there too. Ask in writing for the full report, the comparable listings used to set the market value and the bids for the wreck. Gather your own evidence: listings for cars of the same model, year, mileage and equipment, service invoices, documents for optional extras.

If you dispute the amount under your own comprehensive cover, you can appoint your own expert. If the two experts disagree, a third expert decides. The insurer advances the experts’ fees; in the end the party found to be wrong bears them. The appraisal must be closed within 90 days of the date you informed the insurer that you had appointed your expert, and the indemnity paid within 30 days of closure. The undisputed part, established jointly by the parties, is paid within 30 days of that agreement (art. 111/1 §3). These rules apply to claims made from 1.10.2024; an earlier claim is not covered by them, even if it is still ongoing; for such claims the expertise clause in your policy governs (Act of 17.3.2024, art. 10). Your legal expenses insurance may also cover a counter-expert. In a claim against the other party’s insurer, you can claim your own expert’s fees as a head of damage; whether they are awarded depends on the file.

Do not sign a document marked “full and final settlement” (quittance pour solde) before the total-loss decision is settled. A car that cannot technically be repaired may only be handed to an approved dismantling centre; the details of these rules differ from region to region.

My car was stolen with the spare key in the glove box: can the insurer refuse to pay anything?

Not in every case. The key being in the car does not automatically remove cover. The outcome depends on the nature of the policy clause and on whether the key actually played a role in the theft.

Theft is only covered under comprehensive cover (partial or full omnium); compulsory motor liability insurance does not cover your own car.

Exclusion or forfeiture? Under the law, the insurer may refuse payment in whole or in part for breach of a specific contractual obligation only if that breach caused the loss (Insurance Act, art. 65; art. 11 under the 1992 Act). The Court of Cassation examined a clause stating “theft is not covered if the keys were left in or on the vehicle”: even if the clause is called an “exclusion”, the court must check whether it is really a forfeiture (déchéance / verval). A clause allowing the insurer to refuse cover because the insured breached a contractual obligation is a forfeiture, and the link between the key and the theft must be examined (Cass. 5.2.2016, C.15.0179.F). The Court applied the same principle to a spare key: it was in a suitcase left in the boot, and the court of appeal had treated the clause as an exclusion and refused cover without examining causation. The Court of Cassation quashed that decision; cover cannot be refused without examining the link between the presence of the key and the theft (Cass. 20.9.2012, C.12.0029.F).

When is the link established?

If the car was opened and started without force and the thief used the key from the glove box, the link will very likely be established; a full refusal is then possible. Courts ask whether “without the breach, the theft would not have happened in this way” (Mons Court of Appeal, 17.3.2016) and require a strong probability, not certainty (Liège Court of Appeal, 16.12.2020).
If the key was not used in the theft, there is no link. Examples: the spare key is still untouched in the glove box when the car is recovered, or the car was towed away or taken electronically. In a case where the key was taken by force, the missing security measure was not shown to have made the theft easier and the insurer was ordered to pay (Liège Court of Appeal, 20.2.2017).

Some courts treat security requirements as a condition of cover and make the insured prove compliance (Liège Court of Appeal, 17.12.2012). So read the exact wording of the clause. “Keys must not be left in the car” and “the car must be locked” are different things. If in doubt, the clause is read in your favour (art. 23).

A spare key in the glove box also counts as a key “left in the vehicle”; the Court of Cassation’s rule applies in the same way, and the insurer must still show that this key was used in the theft or made it easier.

Keyless theft. Insurers may argue that the stolen car could only be started with a chip (transponder) key and that, since you still have both keys, the theft is not credible. In one such case the Liège Court of Appeal first appointed a motor expert to examine whether thieves could neutralise the system (30.3.2015), then accepted the theft and ordered the insurer to pay (13.11.2017). In another case both keys had been handed over, no trace of copying was found and the account was inconsistent; the court held that the theft was not proven (Liège Court of Appeal, 25.10.2023). If the car may have been taken by defeating a keyless system, ask for a technical expert’s examination.

Proof. You must prove the theft, but if your account is plausible and consistent you should be believed (Mons Court of Appeal, 21.4.2016). The insurer must prove the breach of the key clause and its link with the theft. According to the Ombudsman’s 2025 report, lost keys and spare keys left in the car are the most frequent grounds for refusing theft claims, and inconsistencies about the date, time or place also trigger fraud suspicions.

Practical steps: Report the theft to the police immediately (policies often set short deadlines such as 24 hours; notice given as quickly as reasonably possible is enough, art. 74). Hand all the keys you have to the insurer. Write your first statement carefully and do not change it later. Ask in writing which clause the refusal is based on and how the insurer establishes the link. For a detailed challenge, see our refused claim guide.

I sold my car under a pay-per-km policy and got an extra premium instead of a refund: what can I do?

The premium for the unused period is refunded, but the mileage adjustment follows the formula in your policy. An extra premium can only be charged if the policy contains a clear calculation clause, and the calculation must be explained to you in an understandable way.

How the product works. At the start you pay a provisional premium based on your estimated annual mileage; at the end of the year it is adjusted to the actual mileage. If you drove less, you get money back; if you drove more, you pay extra. In some products part of the premium is a fixed amount that does not depend on mileage.

What happens to the premium when the car is sold? Under the model contract for compulsory motor insurance:

If the sold car is not replaced within 16 days, the contract is suspended. The premium remains due to the insurer until you inform it of the sale (annex art. 10 §1). Report the sale straight away.
If the suspended contract is not put back into force, it ends at the annual renewal date. The unused premium is refunded within 30 days of the date the contract ends (annex art. 31). This is why the refund can take time.
If you buy another car, the contract continues for the new car and the unused premium is set off against the new premium (annex art. 10 §3, 25).
If you terminate the contract, the premium for the period after termination is refunded within 30 days (annex art. 26 §3; Insurance Act, art. 73).

Why might an extra premium have been charged? Common reasons: the annual mileage allowance being spread over the months of cover (for example, if you used more than half the annual estimate in 6 months), a minimum premium that does not depend on mileage, or a flat-rate mileage applied because you did not report the odometer reading on the day of sale. The Ombudsman’s 2025 report notes that policies do not always clearly state how the premium is calculated when the contract ends during the year; insurers are reviewing their general conditions following these complaints.

The rules on your side: Policy terms must be clear and understandable; in case of doubt they are read in your favour (art. 23). Under the model contract the premium may only be changed under a “clear and precise” contractual provision (annex art. 19). A significant and lasting reduction in risk requires a premium reduction (art. 80). For the refund of premiums wrongly charged, the Ombudsman has accepted that the general 10-year limitation period, rather than the 3-year insurance period, may apply (2024 report). If the policy does not say how the mileage allowance is apportioned when the car is sold during the year, the insurer cannot decide this afterwards: terms must be “clear and precise” (art. 23 §1) and the interpretation most favourable to you prevails in case of doubt (art. 23 §2).

Practical steps: Keep the sale contract and a photo of the odometer on the day of sale. Ask the insurer for a written breakdown with dates, mileage, the formula used and the policy clause it relies on. If the calculation is not set out in the policy, complain to the insurer’s complaints department and then to the Ombudsman (Ombudsman guide).

Good to know: if you drove more than estimated without reporting it and there was no intent, the compulsory motor insurer’s recourse against you is limited to €250 at most (annex art. 45 3°). Under comprehensive cover the result may be a proportional reduction (art. 81).

Checklist

Total loss: who pays? The other party’s liability insurer or your own comprehensive cover?
Ask in writing for the full expert report, the comparable listings and the wreck bids.
Gather listings for similar cars and service invoices; add the waiting and replacement periods.
Disputing the amount under comprehensive cover? Appoint your own expert (art. 111/1).
Theft: police report, all keys handed over, one consistent statement.
Is the clause in the refusal letter an exclusion or a forfeiture? Has the insurer shown the link between the key and the theft?
Pay-per-km premium: date of sale, odometer photo, written breakdown and the policy clause.
Complaints department, then the Ombudsman; put the 3-year limitation period in your calendar (Deadlines guide).

You can search for similar decisions by topic on the Decisions page.

Sources

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Current as of 09.10.2026.