Business insurance for construction through Allianz
Construction firms usually insure the works themselves well. The dispute arises over what stands next to them and over what surfaces after completion.
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Work out for yourself what it would cost.
Enter your details; you will receive a proposal within one working day.
- We compare the offerings of several insurers
- An adviser checks whether the cover suits your activities
- We arrange the switch, including cancellation
A premium indication, not personal advice. Prefer to talk it through? Call 072 - 509 24 56.
- Independent advice
- Several insurers
- Switching arranged
- Help with claims
In brief
Finass acts as an intermediary for the business range of Allianz without being tied to it. We compare more than thirty companies objectively. For a construction firm it is a matter of three contracts alongside each other: the Construction all risks (CAR) insurance for the works, the public and employers' liability insurance for damage to third parties and the plant and machinery insurance for machinery. The general structure is set out at insurance for a contractor.
The point that produces the most files in construction is the the range of insured persons. An annual CAR policy states who counts as an insured party: the main contractor, the client, the subcontractors, sometimes the architect and the structural engineer. If a subcontractor outside that circle damages the works, there is no cover on your policy and a recovery action against their liability insurance follows. Check that circle for each project, not once a year.
The second point concerns the existing property. If you carry out work inside an existing building, everything that was already there is not part of the works. Cracks in adjoining brickwork caused by vibration, water damage to a finished floor, a pipe struck in a house: that is only covered if the existing property section is included, with a sum insured of its own. Without that section you run into the care, custody and control exclusion on the liability policy.
This page deals with one situation. The full overview is on SME insurance package.
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We compare your insurance package across dozens of insurers, explain where the real differences lie, and arrange the switch from start to finish — without you having to chase it yourself.
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Get coveredWhy arrange it through Finass Verzekert?
We look at the terms as well as the premium, and stay your point of contact when there is a claim.
Independent
We are not tied to one insurer and compare on the basis of an objective analysis of several companies.
One fixed adviser
You call or email someone who knows your file. No menu options, no changing call centres.
Switching without hassle
We cancel your old policy and align the start date, so you are never a day without cover.
Help with claims
We report the claim and monitor how it is handled. In urgent cases you can reach us on the emergency line.
Four boundaries in a construction file
Where one policy stops and the next has not yet begun.
Putting your own work right
The cost of redoing a part that was carried out defectively is a performance risk and not an insured loss. The AVB excludes damage to the delivered work itself, and the CAR policy also limits costs arising from a design or workmanship error. What is paid in principle is the consequential loss, not the rebuilding of what you got wrong yourself.
Liability after completion
A contractor remains liable after completion for defects the client should not reasonably have discovered; Article 7:758(3) of the Dutch Civil Code governs that boundary. The CAR policy, however, ends at completion, possibly followed by a maintenance period. Complaints arising after that have to come from the liability policy, and for that the moment the claim is notified counts.
Penalties and delay
A contractual penalty for late completion, a reduction in the contract sum or a penalty payment imposed by the local authority is not compensation for loss but a sanction or an agreement, and is insured nowhere. The client's standstill costs are also pure financial loss and fall outside the AVB. Design responsibility calls for a professional indemnity insurance.
Staff at height and in the trench
The heaviest injury claims in construction come from your own people: a fall from scaffolding, a collapsing trench wall, a collision on site. Article 7:658 of the Dutch Civil Code places the burden of proof on you, and subsection 4 extends that duty of care to hired-in staff and self-employed people working under your direction. For injury in traffic there is separate cover, see WEGAS and WEGAM.
What does your premium depend on?
- Nature of the works: new build, renovation and demolition differ widely
- Annual turnover and payroll: the basis for liability and CAR cover
- Share of subcontracting: determines the size of the circle of insured parties
- Work on existing buildings: the existing property section weighs heavily
- Working height and groundworks: work at height and digging near services raise the risk
- Maintenance period: the aftercare period you include on the CAR policy
Insurers weigh these details differently. That is where your saving is.
Which liability policy pays
| Situation | AVB | BAV |
|---|---|---|
| A stone falling from your scaffolding damages a parked car | Yes | No |
| A resident trips over a site fence that was not properly anchored | Yes | No |
| A neighbour claims that your piling work has caused cracks in their house | Yes | No |
| A roof structure you calculated yourself proves too light and has to be strengthened | No | Yes |
| The client loses rental income because your specification contained incorrect dimensions | No | Yes |
| Diesel from your generator seeps into the neighbour's garden | Provided that | No |
If you take on design or advice alongside the construction work, one policy covers the consequence and the other the mistake itself.
Frequently asked questions
This is what people ask us most.
When do I need an annual CAR policy and when a project-specific one?
If you carry out projects all year round, an annual policy is practical: every job falls under it automatically up to an agreed contract sum and duration. For one large or unusual project, project-specific cover is more suitable. The dividing line lies in the size and duration of the works. We calculate both options before you choose.
Is damage caused by a subcontractor covered?
Only if they are within the circle of insured parties on the policy. If they are, there is cover, but the insurer usually retains no right of recourse against them. If they are not, their own liability insurance has to pay and you depend on whether that cover is adequate. So set the requirement out in the subcontracting agreement.
What happens to tools that disappear from the site?
Theft of equipment is a separate section and is not automatically covered under the CAR policy. Insurers set requirements for storage: a locked site hut, a fenced site or storage elsewhere outside working hours. Without signs of forced entry, an unexplained loss is usually not paid. For machinery and tools, look at the plant and machinery insurance.
Why is there so much in the clause schedule?
Because construction works with preventive conditions. They set out requirements about hot work, about digging near cables and pipes, about covering open parts of the building and about dewatering excavations. Those clauses are conditions of cover: if they are not met, the insurer can limit or refuse the payout.
Every situation is different. For these situations we have a separate page.
Read more
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