Horticulture and agriculture · load · staff travelling along
Van insurance through Avéro Achmea
In the green sector the van is out all season: with plants, crop protection products, chainsaws and sometimes with staff in the back. A different part of the policy conditions applies to each of those three.
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Deze pagina in het Nederlands: Bestelautoverzekering 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 acts as an intermediary for Avéro Achmea's business range, an insurer we often use for companies in the agricultural and horticultural sector. We are not tied to this insurer and compare more than thirty insurers objectively. The choice follows from what cover you need. The legally required liability cover follows from Article 2 of the Dutch Motor Insurance Liability Act (WAM); how the cover is built up is set out on the hub page on van insurance.
What makes the difference in a landscaping, nursery or contracting business is the cargo. Crop protection products, fuel in jerry cans, fertiliser and green waste are not part of the vehicle. If a product leaks into the verge after a collision, the soil contamination is not property damage but a clean-up matter: that belongs on an environmental damage insurance. Your own goods that you carry belong on an own goods in transit insurance, machines and hand tools on a tools insurance.
The third point is the staff travelling along. Seasonal workers riding in the back of a closed load space are not wearing a seatbelt and are therefore, if injured, an employer's problem and not just a traffic problem. The duty of care under Article 7:658 of the Dutch Civil Code continues to apply as soon as staff take to the road for work, supplemented by the case law around Article 7:611 of the Dutch Civil Code on road use. The corresponding types of cover are set out under WEGAS and WEGAM. For the rest of the business you will find an overview at agricultural insurance through Avéro Achmea.
This page deals with one situation. The full overview is on Compare van insurance.
What to look out for
Four situations in which the van works out differently in the green sector from how it looks on paper.
Overloading and payload
A van full of soil, paving or tree trunks goes over the permitted payload sooner than you might think. If you are demonstrably overloaded and that contributes to the loss, the insurer may limit the payout on the ground of wilful recklessness; intent is always excluded under Article 7:952 of the Dutch Civil Code. With a trailer, the weight of the combination also counts for entitlement to drive.
Refrigeration and perishable loads
A cooling unit for cut flowers or young plants is permanently fitted equipment and only counts if it has been declared. If the cooling fails and the consignment is lost, the motor policy pays at most for the repair of the unit, not for the load. Spoilage through temperature variation is, moreover, only insured on most transport covers after an express extension.
Working from and with the vehicle
As soon as the van or pick-up is used to hoist, spread, spray or drive a chipper, the assessment shifts from a traffic risk to work risk. That runs through the public and employers' liability insurance or the plant and machinery insurance. Have it recorded where one cover ends and the other begins.
Storage on the yard
If the van is parked overnight in a barn with hay, straw or machinery, report it. In the event of a fire in an agricultural building the insurer looks at the storage situation, and undeclared circumstances touch on the duty of disclosure under Articles 7:928 and 7:930 of the Dutch Civil Code. Theft of the van from an unattended outdoor site often has its own security clause.
What does your premium depend on?
- Number of vehicles: above a certain number, a fleet policy is better value
- Weight and payload: the weight class determines the basic premium
- Type of load: products, fuel and waste weigh more heavily than plants
- Changing drivers: seasonal workers and agency workers count too
- Permanently fitted equipment: declare cooling, a small crane, a load rack and signwriting separately
- Storage location and security: a yard, a shed or the public road makes a difference
Insurers weigh these details differently. That is where your saving is.
What is covered
| Situation | Third-party liability | Comprehensive |
|---|---|---|
| You hit a customer's gate while reversing | Yes | Yes |
| Theft of the van from an unattended outdoor site at the nursery | No | Provided that |
| Glass damage from a branch on a narrow forest track | No | Yes |
| A loose tree trunk that slides through the load space under braking and dents the wall | No | Yes |
| Engine damage because a seasonal worker fills the diesel van with petrol | No | No |
| Loss in value after a covered loss has been properly repaired | No | No |
Own-damage cover looks at the van itself. What is in it or leaks out of it is assessed on a different policy.
Frequently asked questions
This is what people ask us most.
May staff travel in the back of the load space?
In law that is only allowed if there are approved seats with seatbelts. If it happens anyway and someone is injured, you have two problems: a traffic offence and a breach of your duty of care as an employer. The occupants' cover on the motor policy applies to seats, not to a load space. Arrange a double cab or transport staff separately.
Is the trailer behind the van insured as well?
For damage to third parties this runs through the WAM as long as the trailer is coupled. Damage to the trailer itself, or damage caused while it is standing uncoupled in the yard, is not. For tippers, muck spreaders and livestock trailers there is separate cover; see the trailer insurance for agricultural businesses via Avéro Achmea.
Who pays for clearing up spilt fuel or spray fluid?
Not the motor policy. That covers injury and damaged property of third parties, whereas soil and water contamination is a matter of clean-up costs. Environmental damage insurance is intended for that, covering the cost of investigation and cleaning on your own and other people's land. In the event of an incident, involve the competent authority and your adviser straight away; under Article 7:941 of the Dutch Civil Code the notification must follow as soon as you become aware of the loss.
Is the van insured when driving across a field or dam?
The insurance obligation under the WAM concerns taking part in traffic; enclosed land falls outside it in principle. On your own land, own-damage cover in principle continues to apply, but damage from sinking in, tipping into a ditch or hitting farm buildings is judged more strictly there. Ask whether damage on private land is expressly insured before you assume it is.
Read more
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