Stock insurance through Avéro Achmea
Stock insurance covers the goods you hold for sale or processing. The argument is almost never about the fire itself, but about the value and the place of storage.
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In brief
Stock insurance covers your trading stock and raw materials against fire, storm, water, burglary and usually also impact and smoke and soot damage. It stands apart from business contents insurance, which deals with your machinery, furniture and equipment. In practice the two run into each other: a chilled display cabinet is business contents, what is in it is stock. Anyone with both on one policy still has to keep two sums insured correct.
The main risk is not the fire but underinsurance. Stock fluctuates: around a seasonal peak there is sometimes twice as much as in a quiet month. If the amount on the policy is too low, the proportionality rule applies and you are paid proportionately less. Article 7:960 of the Dutch Civil Code underlies this: a payment may not put you in a clearly better position than you would have been in without the loss. A premium adjustment or a seasonal clause deals with this.
Also watch where the stock is kept. The cover is tied to the address on the policy schedule. Goods in an external warehouse, with a fulfilment provider, in a container or in transit fall outside it. For transport you need goods in transit insurance. If turnover stops because the stock is gone, a business interruption insurance pays for the lost gross profit. The stock policy pays only for the goods.
This page deals with one situation. The full overview is on Compare trailer insurance.
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We look at the terms as well as the premium, and stay your point of contact when there is a claim.
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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.
What to look out for
Four provisions that make more difference in a stock claim than the extent of the cover.
Unexplained losses are excluded
Discrepancies that emerge at stocktaking without signs of forced entry, such as shortfalls in the records and missing items, are excluded on almost every policy. Theft by your own staff also falls outside the cover, unless you take out specific fraud or money insurance for it. Without signs of forced entry there is no burglary claim.
Spoilage only with the right clause
With chilled or frozen stock, refrigeration failure is a separate section. It is not included as standard. If it is included, requirements attach to it: a working alarm on the refrigeration plant, maintenance contracts and sometimes a minimum duration of failure. Failure through a planned power cut or through deferred maintenance usually remains outside.
Inherent defect and gradual causes
Goods that spoil, discolour, dry out or rust without any identifiable insured event fall under inherent defect and gradually acting influences. That also applies to damp in poorly ventilated storage. Insurance pays for a sudden, unforeseen event, not for a business process that goes wrong.
Prevention requirements are conditions of cover
The clause schedule states the level of security, the requirement for closed and sorted storage, the distance to flammable material and the smoking ban. If you do not comply, the insurer can limit the payment. If your storage or your product range changes materially, report it: Article 7:928 of the Dutch Civil Code requires you to declare correctly, and Article 7:930 DCC governs the consequences if you do not.
What does your premium depend on?
- Sum insured and peak stock: the highest level in the year counts
- Nature of the goods: flammable, perishable or theft-prone
- Construction type and use of the building: brick with a hard roof covering weighs differently from timber
- Security and fire prevention: alarm class, sprinklers, compartmentation
- Number of storage locations: every address must appear on the policy schedule
- Excess per event: with larger stocks often a fixed amount
Insurers weigh these details differently. That is where your saving is.
What is covered
| Situation | Extended | Comprehensive |
|---|---|---|
| A fire in the neighbouring warehouse that spreads to your own | Yes | Yes |
| A burglary with signs of forced entry in which the entire trading stock is taken | Yes | Yes |
| Your own forklift driver smashes a pallet of glassware to pieces | No | Yes |
| A pallet that falls off the tail lift while being unloaded | No | Provided that |
| Shoplifting during opening hours, without forced entry to a door or window | No | No |
| Winter coats that are unsaleable and out of season after the season ends | No | No |
Comprehensive cover mainly adds damage you cause yourself. The exclusions on the clause schedule apply in both forms.
Frequently asked questions
This is what people ask us most.
What happens if my stock is higher than the sum insured?
Then you are underinsured and payment is made proportionately. If there is twice as much stock as insured, you are paid roughly half of the loss, even for a small fire. So work with the highest level in the year or agree an adjustment, whereby you pay additional premium afterwards on the actual average stock.
Is stock in an external warehouse included?
Only if that address appears on the policy schedule. Storage with a fulfilment provider, in a rented unit or temporarily at a customer's premises falls outside the cover for your own location. Notify additional locations in advance, with a statement of the value held there on average. For goods in transit you need separate transport cover.
Does stock insurance also cover my lost turnover?
No. The policy pays for the goods, not for the consequences of your business coming to a halt. Business interruption insurance exists for that, covering the continuing costs and the lost gross profit during the agreed indemnity period. The two policies belong together: without the second, you are left after a fire with replacement stock but no income in the meantime.
How is the loss to my stock calculated?
Usually on the basis of cost price or replacement value, not on the selling price. Your profit margin is not a loss. So keep your stock records off the premises or in the cloud, because without supporting evidence the size of the loss becomes an estimate. Report the claim as soon as you know of it, as Article 7:941 of the Dutch Civil Code requires.
Every situation is different. For these situations we have a separate page.
- Compare business contents insuranceThe main page
- Business contents and goods insurance for self-employed professionalsChanging work address, stock, underinsurance
- Business contents insurance for shopsShop fittings, stock, season
- Business contents insurance for warehousesRacking, stock, sprinklers
- Insurance through Avéro AchmeaBroking, clause sheet, type of cover
- Goods in transit insurance for agricultural businesses through Avéro AchmeaHarvest, low-loader, heating and spoilage