Basic cover
- Clean-up costs on your own site
- Soil contamination
- Water contamination
- After fire, explosion or lightning
Environmental damage insurance through Avéro Achmea
Environmental damage insurance pays for cleaning up contamination, and so covers precisely the gap that liability insurance leaves open.
- several insurers compared objectively
- 9.5 customer rating for a new policy
- AFM licence 12016589
- Personal 072 - 509 24 56, weekdays 9–17
This page in another language: Nederlands
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 situation
- 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
Environmental damage insurance pays the costs of investigating and cleaning up soil, groundwater and surface water after something has happened: a leaking tank, a burst pipe, a fire with firefighting water or an overturned drum. What makes it distinctive is that the cover also applies to your own site, and that is exactly what public and employers' liability insurance (AVB) does not do.
That liability policy pays only when you are liable for another party's loss, for example under the law of tort (Article 6:162 of the Dutch Civil Code), as the possessor of a defective structure or pipe (Article 6:174 DCC) or for a contractor you engaged (Article 6:171 DCC). You cannot be liable to yourself for cleaning your own plot, so the AVB does not pay there.
Avéro Achmea offers this product. When comparing, we look at which forms are included: your own site, sites where you work, receiving sites and the transport in between. The recording of the baseline situation also differs from one insurer to another.
Independent, personal, sorted quickly
We compare your environmental damage insurance 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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Through Finass or direct with Avéro Achmea?
The structure of the cover in three parts, with an overview per situation below.
Extended cover
As well as your own site, also surrounding land, work locations at third parties and incoming contamination.
- Clean-up of surrounding land
- Work location at a third party
- Defence & legal costs
Comprehensive cover
The most complete cover. We compare Avéro Achmea's extended versions with the market.
- Repair of paving & pipes
- Solar panel fragments
- Business interruption during clean-up
- Defence & legal costs
What is covered
| Situation | AVB | BAV | Cyber |
|---|---|---|---|
| Injury to a visitor or customer | Yes | No | No |
| Damage to a client's property | Provided it is declared | No | No |
| Financial loss caused by an advisory or calculation error | No | Yes | No |
| Downtime after a ransomware attack | No | No | Yes |
| Data breach involving personal data | No | Provided it is declared | Yes |
| Damage to property in your care | No | No | No |
What we do
| What we do | At Finass | Direct with Avéro Achmea |
|---|---|---|
| Comparison across several insurers | Yes | No |
| Advice based on your own situation | Yes | Sometimes |
| One point of contact for claims | Yes | Sometimes |
| Cancellation with your current insurer arranged | Yes | No |
| We determine whether Avéro Achmea is the best choice | Yes | No |
| Advice fees for you as a customer | No | No |
This overview concerns our service, not the cover. What is actually covered is set out in the policy conditions and on the insurer's insurance card (verzekeringskaart); you receive both before you take out cover.
What does your premium depend on?
- Nature of the substances stored. Fuels, oils and chemicals weigh more heavily than the storage of dry raw materials.
- Location and soil conditions. Proximity to surface water, a water abstraction area or permeable soil raises the clean-up costs.
- Storage facilities. Liquid-tight floors, drip trays and an inspected tank reduce the premium considerably.
- Number and type of sites. Your own site, working locations at clients and receiving sites are each assessed separately.
- Recorded baseline situation. A recent soil survey makes acceptance easier and prevents argument after a loss.
- Sum insured and excess. Clean-ups are labour-intensive. The limit chosen and the excess determine the premium.
Insurers weigh these details differently. That is where your saving is.
How we arrange it
- You request a quoteWe take stock of your situation, your risk and your wishes.
- We compareseveral insurers, on premium as well as conditions.
- You receive a proposalWith an explanation of the differences and the exclusions.
- We arrange the switchIncluding cancellation, so there is no gap in cover.
Why 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.
9.5New policy
9.8Claims handling
Customers rate our service on four aspects: personal service, service delivery, availability and the outcome. The reviews are collected and published by NH1816 and come from customers who have actually taken out a policy with Finass Advies B.V. or reported a claim.
Where things go wrong in practice
Four points that make the difference between a policy that pays out and one that does not.
Your own site or liability
This is the distinction that this product turns on. If you contaminate your neighbour's land you are liable and the AVB may come into play. If you contaminate your own site, the authorities impose a duty to clean up without there being any liable counterparty. You bear those costs yourself, unless you have placed them with an environmental damage policy. Tenants and landlords need to make separate arrangements about this.
The baseline situation determines what is insured
Contamination that was already there before the policy started is excluded. Without a survey of the starting position it cannot be established afterwards what is new, and a claim then founders on that dividing line. Have a baseline measurement carried out when you take a site into use or when you take out the insurance, and keep the report. Contamination that is known, already notified or already identified cannot be insured after the event.
Tanks, pipes and storage
Most claims come from storage: an underground or above-ground tank, a drip tray that is not liquid-tight, a pipe beneath the floor. Requirements from the environmental permit and compulsory inspections are often set out as clauses on the policy. If an inspection is not carried out or a requirement is ignored, cover lapses for precisely that loss. Asbestos, too, is usually excluded or insured only under a separate provision.
What is not reimbursed
Administrative fines and penalty payments fall outside the cover, as does any fall in the value of the plot that remains after the clean-up. Deliberate breach of requirements is excluded, which is in line with Article 7:952 DCC. A gradual leak that you knew of, or should have known of, and allowed to continue is not paid for, and neither is the replacement of the leaking tank or pipe itself: that is repair of your own property, not a clean-up cost.
Business interruption insurance
Machinery & installations
Frequently asked questions
This is what people ask us most.
Does my public and employers' liability insurance not already cover this?
Only in part. An AVB comes into play when you are liable for another party's loss, for example under Article 6:162 or 6:174 DCC. For cleaning your own land there is no liable counterparty, so the AVB does not pay there. Many AVB policies also exclude gradually occurring environmental contamination. Environmental damage insurance fills that gap.
Is existing contamination on my site included?
No. Contamination dating from before the start date, or already known when the policy was taken out, is excluded. That is why a soil survey recording the starting position matters so much: it proves what was present when the policy began. Without such a baseline measurement, it cannot be shown on a later notification that the contamination arose within the policy period.
What happens in a fire with contaminated firefighting water?
Firefighting water that becomes contaminated and ends up in the soil or the surface water is a classic example of an insured event, provided this form appears on the policy. The fire damage itself runs through the buildings and contents cover. The clearing and clean-up costs for the firefighting water run through the environmental damage insurance, including where your own site is concerned.
Am I also covered if a subcontractor causes the damage?
Often you are, but check it. You can be liable to third parties for the mistakes of a non-subordinate contractor you engaged, under Article 6:171 DCC. Whether the clean-up costs fall under your own policy depends on whether the working location and the activities are included. Also set out in the contract what insurance the subcontractor must have.
Every situation is different. For these situations we have a separate page.
- Compare environmental damage insuranceThe main page
- Environmental damage insurance for a VvE (Dutch owners' association) through Avéro Achmea
- Environmental damage: soil contamination and clean-up costsSoil, firefighting water, clean-up
- Environmental damage in propertyHistorical contamination, tenants, baseline survey
- Environmental damage insurance for real estateClean-up, your own site, third-party site
- Environmental damage insurance for real estate: cover per locationHistorical contamination, tenants, baseline survey
- Increased cost of working insurance through Avéro Achmea
Read more
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Ready to compare?
Request a quote without obligation. We will look at which insurer best matches your activities and your risk.
Prefer to call? 072 - 509 24 56, weekdays 09:00–17:00.
Claim on the road? Emergency line 06 - 55 20 40 72.
About our service
Finass Verzekert is a trading name of Finass Advies B.V. We advise on and arrange non-life insurance on the basis of an objective analysis of several insurers, and receive commission for this from the insurer, which is included in the premium. You pay no separate advice fee. Before you take out cover, we establish your wishes and needs.
You will find our licence, KvK and Kifid details and our complaints procedure at the foot of every page.
This page was compiled by Finass Verzekert (LinkedIn). Last updated on .
The information on this page is general in nature and is not personal advice.