Damage to your car after an accident: loss of use and depreciation

After a collision in which nobody was hurt, everything revolves around your car. Will it be repaired or is it a write-off? How much do you get for the days without a car? And does the other party also pay the VAT if you do not have the vehicle repaired? The damage to your car after an accident goes well beyond the garage bill.

The insurer of the party at fault must compensate you in full. In practice, items such as loss of use (privation de jouissance), depreciation (moins-value) or storage costs are often left unmentioned unless you claim them yourself. In this article, we go through what you can claim. What you should do immediately after the accident is covered in our overview car accident in Belgium: what to do?.

Repair or write-off?

The expert who assesses the damage first decides whether your vehicle can be repaired.

• Technical write-off: the car can no longer be repaired completely and safely. Think of a bent chassis or a car that has burnt out.
• Economic write-off: repair is technically possible, but it costs considerably more than the car was worth before the accident. In practice, the cost of repair is compared with the value before the accident, minus the value of the wreck.

If the car is a write-off, you receive the replacement value: the amount you need to buy an equivalent car of the same type, age and condition. The value of the wreck is deducted from this, since you can still sell it.

If no equivalent vehicle is available on the second-hand market, for example for a rare or adapted car, the judge may nevertheless award the cost of repair.

Loss of use: compensation for the days without a car

If you cannot use your car after the accident, you suffer loss of use. You are entitled to compensation for it, even if you did not hire a replacement car and incurred no specific costs.

How much per day?

The compensation is a flat daily rate, which depends on the type of vehicle. The courts use the Indicative Table for this. The 2024 table proposes in particular:

Vehicle	Loss of use per day (2024 Indicative Table)
Bicycle	12 euros
Car (including company or leased car)	23 euros

For vans, lorries, taxis, motorcycles and other vehicles, the table sets its own amounts, which are generally higher. For a commercial vehicle, you can also prove your actual loss, such as lost turnover.

How many days?

The period of loss of use has two parts:

Period	Runs from … to …
Waiting period	the accident until the day you know the cost of repair or that the car is a write-off
Repair or replacement time	the start of the repair until delivery, or the time needed to find another car

If your car remained roadworthy until the repair, the waiting period only runs until the assessment. A car with broken headlights or indicators is technically usable, but it may not be driven on the road. For the replacement time in the case of a write-off, the table proposes a flat 15 days if you have no specific information.

If the repair drags on because parts are missing, or if the insurer is late in appointing an expert, that delay is in principle borne by the party at fault.

A hire car

Instead of the flat rate, you can hire a replacement car and claim the actual hire cost. That car must be comparable to yours and the hire period must match the repair or replacement time. The Indicative Table deducts a small percentage from the hire cost, because you are not wearing out your own car during that period. You cannot claim both a hire car and the flat rate for the same days.

Depreciation after repair

Even a properly repaired car is sometimes worth less: it is no longer “accident-free”. In Belgium, this depreciation is only compensated in particular cases, for example for an almost new car with low mileage or for a classic car. The Indicative Table then proposes a flat rate of around 10% of the value before the accident. You must, however, show why your car has lost a significant amount of value.

Conversely, the insurer cannot deduct anything because your car was fitted with new parts. The Court of Cassation held on 17 September 2020 that, in the case of a repair, no deduction for wear and tear (vétusté) may as a rule be applied.

Do you get the VAT back without an invoice?

If you are not registered for VAT, like most private individuals, the VAT is part of your damage. It is reimbursed to you, even if you do not have the car repaired. The Court of Cassation accepted this as early as 1988: you are free to do what you like with your compensation.

The same applies to a write-off. The VAT is calculated on the replacement value, at the rate applicable to a new vehicle, even if you buy a second-hand car without VAT (Cass. 28 May 1996 and 25 September 2008).

If you are registered for VAT and can deduct it in full or in part, you only get back the portion that you ultimately bear yourself.

Which additional costs can you claim?

• Towing costs, even for an expensive recovery at night or at the weekend.
• Storage costs at the garage, unless you allowed them to rise unnecessarily, for example by leaving the wreck there for a long time after it was declared a write-off.
• Assessment costs for your own expert, for example if the other party did not send anyone. The Court of Cassation has accepted these costs as a head of damage since 2002.
• Roadworthiness test (contrôle technique) after a major repair.
• Financing costs if you had to borrow to pay for the repair or a new car.
• Administrative costs: the 2024 Indicative Table proposes 50 to 150 euros, depending on the complexity.

Compensatory interest also runs on all amounts.

Are the RDR scales binding on you?

Insurers have concluded agreements among themselves to settle material damage quickly. Under this arrangement (RDR), it is often your own motor third-party liability insurer (assureur RC auto) that pays for your material damage, on behalf of the other party’s insurer. These agreements contain their own scales, including for loss of use, which are lower than the Indicative Table.

You are not a party to this agreement. The scales are not binding on you. You can always claim the full amount to which you are entitled under the ordinary law.

Your own comprehensive cover and recovery

If you have comprehensive cover (omnium), you can ask your own insurer to pay for the damage to your car, regardless of who is at fault. This is often quicker. Your insurer then recovers the amount paid from the party at fault (recourse).

Be careful: comprehensive cover does not cover everything. You claim your excess, the loss of use and other additional costs yourself from the other party’s insurer. Do not let these items slip.

Frequently asked questions

Have your case reviewed

Are you wondering whether the insurer’s offer is complete? We check that all items are included and claim the balance. Also read our article on compensation after a road accident. Contact us.

Law as at 30 September 2026. We update this article when the rules change.