Animals · buildings · spray drift
Liability insurance through Avéro Achmea
We often use Avéro Achmea for farming and horticultural businesses. There, liability rarely comes from an employee's mistake, but from an animal, a building or a product that drifts.
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Deze pagina in het Nederlands: Aansprakelijkheidsverzekering via Avéro Achmea.
The calculator and the quote form below are in Dutch. Prefer to do this in English? Email info@finassverzekert. nl or call 072 - 509 24 56 and we will take it from there.
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.
In brief
Finass arranges business general insurance from Avéro Achmea. We are not tied to this insurer: we compare several insurers objectively and the choice follows from what you need in terms of cover, not from the name on the policy. Avéro Achmea comes into the picture with businesses that have a mixed risk of buildings, machinery, livestock and crops, because the cover there can be built up as a whole. You will find the wider range at the agricultural insurance from Avéro Achmea.
The liability insurance covers injury and property damage that you cause to others. In the farming and horticultural sector that loss sits in corners that do not exist in an office. As the keeper of an animal you are liable under Article 6:179 of the Dutch Civil Code for the damage the animal causes, even without any fault on your part: livestock that ends up on the road through a broken fence and causes a collision is the textbook example. For a barn that collapses, a slurry pit that gives way or a roof that lands on the neighbour's car in a storm, Article 6:174 of the Dutch Civil Codeapplies, the liability of the owner of a defective building.
Just as decisive is what the policy does not. Loss caused by contamination of soil, air or water is excluded on the liability insurance and belongs on environmental damage insurance. Damage caused with a motor vehicle falls outside it, because the insurance requirement under Article 2 of the Dutch Motor Insurance Liability Act (WAM) applies to that; a tractor or telehandler calls for its own cover, see insuring a tractor as plant and machinery. And damage to property you have in your care, such as a hired forage harvester or the field you are contract-working on, runs into the care, custody and control exclusion.
This page deals with one situation. The full overview is on Compare personal liability insurance (AVP).
What to look out for
Four subjects that lead to discussion more often at a farming or horticultural business than the premium does.
Animals: liable without fault
Article 6:179 of the Dutch Civil Code places liability with the keeper of the animal, regardless of fault. Livestock on the loose, a dog that bites at the entrance to the business or a horse that throws a rider during a lesson: these are different sections. If you work with third parties on the yard or give lessons, report that expressly, because that activity is not automatically on the policy.
Spray drift and fertiliser onto the neighbouring field
Drift of crop protection products that affects the neighbour's crop is property damage and is insurable in principle. As soon as the same emission is treated as contamination, or has arisen gradually, the cover on the liability policy lapses. That distinction is a subtle one and it determines whether or not you need environmental damage cover.
Contract work on someone else's property
If you work on a client's fields, buildings or machinery, that is work on property you have in your care. Damage to that very object falls under the care, custody and control exclusion. So for contractors and landscape gardeners, additional care, custody and control or processing cover is not a luxury but the heart of the conversation.
Products supplied and fines
Loss caused by feed, manure, planting material or crops you have supplied falls under the products section. That has to be included separately and often has a sum insured of its own. The cost of recovering and replacing your own product falls outside it. Administrative fines and penalty payments, for instance from the food safety authority NVWA, are never insured: that is a penalty, not compensation.
What does your premium depend on?
- Nature of the business: arable farming, livestock, glasshouse horticulture or contracting
- Turnover and payroll: both are used, depending on the section
- Number and type of animals: determines the risk under Article 6:179 of the Dutch Civil Code
- Work at third parties' premises: contracting and landscaping assignments increase the care, custody and control risk
- Products section included: the supply of feed, manure or planting material
- Excess per claim: a higher excess brings the premium down
Insurers weigh these details differently. That is where your saving is.
Which policy responds
| Situation | AVB | BAV |
|---|---|---|
| Your cows break through a broken fence and cause a collision on the road | Yes | No |
| A visitor to the farm shop slips on wet tiles and breaks a wrist | Yes | No |
| An employee falls from the loft in the barn and is permanently unfit for work | Provided that | No |
| You advise a fellow grower about fertiliser and their harvest fails as a result | No | Yes |
| A client loses turnover because you carried out the sowing too late | No | Provided that |
| Redoing your own failed sowing work for that client | No | No |
The AVB is about injury and property damage, the BAV about financial loss without anything being broken.
Frequently asked questions
This is what people ask us most.
Is damage caused by escaped livestock covered?
Yes, that is a classic claim under liability insurance. As the keeper of the animal you are liable under Article 6:179 of the Dutch Civil Code, even if you maintained the fence properly. The insurer does look at the circumstances: a structurally defective fence can lead to discussion about prevention. Report the loss as soon as you hear of it, as Article 7:941 of the Dutch Civil Code requires.
Does this policy cover soil contamination on my own yard?
No. Contamination of soil, air and water is excluded on virtually every liability insurance, and damage to your own land is not liability towards someone else in any event. A leaking diesel tank or a burst pipe carrying cleaning agent calls for environmental damage insurance, which deals with the remediation costs on your own and adjacent land.
Why does a collision with the tractor fall outside it?
Motor vehicles are subject to their own legal insurance requirement under Article 2 of the Dutch Motor Insurance Liability Act (WAM). Because that cover belongs elsewhere, liability insurance excludes damage involving a motor vehicle. You insure self-propelled plant with plant and machinery or tractor insurance. Watch the transition: if the machine is stationary and used as a tool, the assessment can be different.
Can I place everything with one insurer?
You can, and it makes claims handling simpler because there are fewer discussions about which policy responds. It is not compulsory. We compare section by section and only place everything with one insurer if the offering stands up on substance. See also the wider public and employers' liability insurance for the structure of the sections.
Read more
Within Aansprakelijkheidsverzekering
- Aansprakelijkheidsverzekeringthe main page
- Klaverblad business liability insurance
- Chubb zakelijk aansprakelijkheidsverzekering
- Avero achmea aansprakelijkheidsverzekering vve
- Zakelijk aansprakelijkheidsverzekering
- Klaverblad liability insurance for SMEs
- Vereende aansprakelijkheidsverzekering particulieren avp
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