A home on the yard · private or business use · fire spreading
Business contents insurance through Avéro Achmea
On a farm the home and the business stand on the same yard and sometimes under the same roof. That makes the question of what is home contents and what is business equipment the heart of the policy.
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Deze pagina in het Nederlands: Zakelijke inboedelverzekering via Avéro Achmea.
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A premium indication, not personal advice. Prefer to talk it through? Call 072 - 509 24 56.
In brief
Avéro Achmea is one of the companies Finass works with for agricultural and commercial packages. You can read more about that under Avéro Achmea and with agricultural insurance. We compare several insurers objectively and choose on the basis of your business situation.
In a business with a home on the yard, the dividing line does not run along the front door but along the use of the item. The sofa, the clothing and the household goods are home contents. The laptop that runs the business accounts, the freezer with business stock, tools used in the cattle shed and the firm's office furniture are not: they belong on a business contents and goods insurance. If that is not separated out, part of the loss remains uninsured after a fire even though premium has been paid on both policies.
The second point is the fire spreading across the yard. A home attached to a barn or cattle shed, or standing close up against one, shares the fire risk of the business part: hay and straw storage, mechanical ventilation, a workshop, battery charging equipment and electrical installations in damp areas. Insurers therefore look at the distance, at whether there is a fire-resistant separation and at the inspection of the electrical installation before they accept the contents.
This page deals with one situation. The full overview is on Compare home contents insurance (inboedelverzekering).
What to look out for
Four points that weigh more heavily than the contents value itself where a home stands on a business yard.
Draw the line beforehand, not after the fire
Make a list of items that are private and items that are used for the business, including the borderline cases: the tractor keys in the utility room, the chest freezer, the computer, the paper business records. Record which policy each item sits on. Items in mixed use are the most common source of argument when a claim is settled.
Electrics, storage and inspection
On agricultural sites insurers often set requirements for the periodic inspection of the electrical installation, for charging batteries, for the storage of hay and straw and for the use of heaters or drying equipment. Such a clause is a condition, not advice. Keep inspection reports and evidence that any defects found were put right. After a fire that is the first thing asked for.
What is not covered as home contents
Outside the cover are animals, crops, stock and business equipment, machinery and implements, items kept outside or in an open barn, and property you are storing for others. In addition, wear, inherent defect, vermin and the gradual effect of damp or ammonia are excluded. For machinery damage without a peril coming from outside there is a machinery breakdown insurance.
Report what changes on the yard
A new shed, a solar roof, a small campsite, a farm shop or letting out part of the barn changes the risk of the whole site, including for the home. Insurers accept on the basis of what you declare; if the actual situation differs from that, the Articles 7:928 and 7:930 of the Dutch Civil Code apply and the payout can be reduced or refused.
What does your premium depend on?
- Contents value: of the private part, separate from the business goods
- Distance to the business buildings: and whether there is a fire-resistant separation
- Construction type and roof covering: of the home and adjoining buildings
- Activities in the farmyard: livestock farming, growing, storage or secondary activities
- Prevention: electrical inspection, lightning protection, detection and fire-fighting equipment
- Excess and claims history: assessed across the whole site
Insurers weigh these details differently. That is where your saving is.
What is covered in the farmhouse
| Situation | Extended | Comprehensive |
|---|---|---|
| Smoke and soot damage in the living room after the adjoining implement store caught fire | Yes | Yes |
| The television falls off the wall because the bracket pulls out of the plaster | No | Yes |
| During a burglary at the house, jewellery is taken from the bedroom | Provided that | Yes |
| Damp patches in the bedroom wall because a gutter has been overflowing for years | No | No |
| Your daughter's private laptop falls off the table while she is cleaning | No | Provided that |
| Garden furniture blows across the yard in a storm and ends up in the ditch | No | Provided that |
A sub-limit often applies to valuables, separate from the sum insured for the contents as a whole.
Frequently asked questions
This is what people ask us most.
Where do home contents end and business contents begin?
At the use. Items you use privately in and around the home are home contents; everything that serves the business falls under the business contents and stock insurance. A computer you use for the business accounts therefore belongs on the commercial policy. Have the borderline cases identified when you apply, so that no double cover, or indeed a gap, arises.
Are the contents also insured if the fire starts in the cattle shed?
Yes, a cause outside the home does not rule out the cover. The insurer will however check whether the prevention conditions were met, for example on the electrical installation or on the storage of hay and straw. If a clause was not complied with and the fire is connected with that, that is an independent reason to limit or refuse the payout.
Are belongings in the barn included?
Contents in a lockable outbuilding are generally covered more narrowly than in the home, with a lower maximum and often only where there are signs of forced entry. Items in an open barn or under a lean-to are usually excluded altogether. So keep valuable private belongings indoors, and tell us when you apply if you regularly store contents elsewhere on the yard.
What happens if the business ends or the home stands empty?
You must report both. Where a property stands empty, most policies limit the cover to a number of named perils and cover for burglary and water damage falls away. A change of use, such as letting the home or turning it into holiday accommodation, also materially changes the risk and falls under the duty of disclosure in Article 7:928 of the Dutch Civil Code.
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