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 situation
A premium indication, not personal advice. Prefer to talk it through? Call 072 - 509 24 56.
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.
The structure of the cover in three parts, with an overview per situation below.
Basic cover
The basic cover insures the essentials. We show what Avéro Achmea and other insurers offer here.
Clean-up costs on your own site
Soil contamination
Water contamination
After fire, explosion or lightning
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
