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DRIVING

The key things you need to know about car insurance in Norway

Thinking about getting on the road in Norway but not sure where to start when it comes to car insurance? We’ve got you covered. 

Published: 18 January 2022 14:29 CET
Updated: 19 March 2022 08:22 CET
The Atlantic Road in Norway.
Thinking about getting a car in Norway but have no idea where to start when it comes to insurance? Pictured is the Atlantic Road in Norway. Photo by Alexander Sinn on Unsplash

Who needs to be insured? 

Everyone who owns a car in Norway must buy third party cover when registering their vehicle. This is compulsory and will cover any damage your car may cause to other people or property in the event of an accident.

This compulsory insurance is called ansvarsforsikring. However, other policies can be combined with this basic third-party insurance.

Additionally, your insurance certificate should be kept in the car at all times. If you own a registered fee for a vehicle that is yet to be insured, you will have to pay a fee of 150 kroner for every day that the car isn’t insured.

What types of policy are there?

In addition to the compulsory third-party insurance, a few different policy types are available, depending on your needs.

The other policies available are reduced damages insurance, which covers fire, theft, damage to the glass and roadside assistance cover for your car, in addition to the basic liability insurance. This is called delkasko. 

Then there is comprehensive motor insurance which covers damage to your own car in connection with a collision as well as the possibility of a courtesy car if needed. This is referred to as kasko and includes everything covered in delkasko insurance too. If you have taken out a loan to purchase the vehicle, then banks and lenders will typically require motorists to have this coverage on their car. 

For those looking for the most complete coverage available, there is super-comprehensive or superkasko insurance, which will cover mechanical damage depending on the age and mileage of the car.

How much does insurance cost? 

Several factors such as where you live or the type of car you drive will affect the overall price, as well as your driving history and policy type. For example, if you own an expensive car and live in the city, where more accidents happen, your insurance will probably be higher than if you own a cheap car and live in a rural area.

More comprehensive policies are also more expensive than basic cover for obvious reasons. Other factors influencing the price are how often you plan on using the car. Age is also a factor, with insurance costing considerably more for people under 24 and those aged over 70 more.

Still, it is estimated that the average cost of insuring a car in Norway is around 15,000 kroner annually, although what you pay can fluctuate greatly.

How to get the best deal

There are a few tips and tricks you can employ to get the best deal. Firstly, there is the tried and tested method of using a comparison site to shop around. Tjenestetorget and Forsikringer.no are two of the most popular sites for comparing quotes in Norway.

If you have recently moved to Norway and have a no-claims bonus in the country you have come from, it is possible to try and get this carried over to your new insurer. To do this, you will need a letter outlining how many years you have been insured without claiming from your old provider.

For those with a mortgage or loan, banks will typically offer competitive insurance deals to those who are already customers with them. Therefore, it may be worth taking out all your insurance and banking needs with one provider for the best overall deal. 

Another way of securing cheaper car insurance overall is paying a larger excess. The excess is what you pay towards repairs or to make a claim. Paying a higher excess can help secure a cheaper insurance policy overall.

And finally, you can secure a deal through union membership or through your pension provider. Union organisations and pension firms usually have exclusive deals on insurance only available to members.

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For members

LIVING IN NORWAY

Living in Norway: Can you get by without a car? 

Whether you choose to live in one of Norway's largest cities or dream of life in a more rural area, you will likely have considered how dependent you are on having access to a car. 

Published: 20 February 2024 10:21 CET
Updated: 25 March 2024 14:02 CET
Living in Norway: Can you get by without a car? 

Cars can be an expensive investment, and picking an unreliable one can be a costly mistake. That’s without having to consider insurance, fuel, tolls and being afraid of driving on a different side of the road and driving in the unpredictable Norwegian weather. 

On top of that, not everyone has learned how to drive, or they may belong to a group of nationals who are unable to swap their driving licence for a Norwegian one.

For many, cars represent freedom, being able to get where you need to be on your own terms. For some living in the cities, not having a car will be liberating in its own way – namely, shedding a significant cost.

READ ALSO: The best sites for buying a used car in Norway

The question of whether you can survive in Norway without a car or driving license will depend mostly on where you live. 

In the cities

For starters, in the big cities and specifically Oslo, you will be able to get by without a car. The city has a decent public transport network with good coverage of the entire city across its buses, trams and metro lines. 

Decent rail connections also connect the capital to several smaller towns and cities. 

On the days that Oslo’s public transport system isn’t reliable, such as days when there is extreme weather, you may not be able to get to where you need to be with a car either. 

Furthermore, having a car may, in some cases, be more of a burden. There are a number of tolls, and finding a place to park can be difficult.

The fact that parking spaces are regularly listed for anything between 300,000 and 1 million kroner on property listing site Finn.no should tell you everything you need to know. 

Much of the same, with the exception of million kroner parking spaces, could be said for some of Norway’s other big cities.

Transport in Trondheim and Stavanger mostly revolves around a bus network (although commuter rail is also an option), and if you live and work centrally, you can walk or use public transport to get to everywhere you need to. 

Bergen’s public transport offering could be considered better than in Stavanger and Trondheim, and there is even a funicular connecting the city to the surrounding nature. 

However, there are still several reasons why you may still wish to have a car living in the cities. 

Firstly, not all cities are the same. In smaller towns, like Ålesund, with large suburban areas, you will need a car if you live outside the centre. Similarly, while Tromsø has a decent bus network, if you live on the other islands in the area a car would be handy.  

Even in cities where you can reach work and the other essentials by public transport regularly, there are reasons you would want a car. 

If you have children, you’ll know all about needing to ferry them around for the various activities, clubs, parties and events they are invited to. Depending on their hobbies, getting all their gear around won’t be easy via public transport. 

Given that the majority that end up moving to Norway with kids or having their children in Norway do so because they have ended up with a Norwegian, a car will likely make family visits a lot easier. 

Outside the towns and cities

This is where things will be much, much more complicated. Having lived in both the capital, Oslo, and a rural village of about 2,000–3,000 people, getting by without a car isn’t feasible in the long term. 

There are ways around it, like trying to live close to stores and schools, but your life will be significantly more challenging without regular access to a car. 

Buses are a lot more infrequent, so they can’t be relied on to get between towns or to and from work. 

Things are also a lot further apart in more rural areas, so attending things like doctor’s appointments may be a struggle. With things tens of kilometres apart, solutions that might work in a city, like a bike or e-scooter, won’t quite cut it. 

Trying to access nature may also be harder in rural areas without a car than even in a city. At least in cities like Oslo and Bergen, there are options you can take directly to nature spots. 

In rural areas, many of the best gems are found by driving to them. 

Are there any alternatives?  

In many cases, it will simply be a case of needing access to a car rather than owning a car. Several short-term rental schemes in Norway let you borrow a car for a few hours or a few days cheaper than a typical rental company.

Those living in Bergen can use the Dele service. Their service comes with an upfront payment that sets users back around 8,200 kroner to join (7,000 kroner security deposit and then six monthly payments of 600 kroner). The deposit is returned when your membership ends.

There are other options, too. Bilkollektivet is Norway’s largest car-sharing scheme and is based in Oslo. They are a non-profit with several membership tiers depending on how often you need car access.

Getaround (formerly Nabobil) is another example of a car-sharing service. Getaround is the most widespread across Norway, although they can be a lot more expensive than other companies.

However, these companies are only helpful if you only need access to a car once a week or a few times a month. Anymore, and buying a car may make more sense.

In addition, these services cover most towns and cities, but those in rural areas may still end up being left short.

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