Your own home · replacement value as new · buildings cover alongside
Home contents insurance (inboedelverzekering) for a house
With a home of your own, the question is rarely whether you are insured, but on which side of the line between contents and structure a damaged item falls.
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.
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A premium indication, not personal advice. Prefer to talk it through? Call 072 - 509 24 56.
In brief
Anyone who owns a house has two policies: buildings insurance (opstalverzekering) for the building and home contents insurance (inboedelverzekering) for what is inside it. A single fire or a single leak calls on both, and then it becomes clear how sharply the line runs. The rule of thumb is simple: what is permanently attached to the house belongs to the structure. What you take with you when you move is contents.
When it comes to it the awkwardness lies in the middle category: a fitted kitchen, a boiler, sun blinds, a laid floor or solar panels. With one insurer for both policies there is one assessor and usually one excess. With two companies, discussion arises about how to allocate the loss.
What does home contents insurance for a house cover?
The structure of the cover in three parts, with an overview per situation below.
The standard
Extended
The named perils: fire, water, burglary, storm.
Fire and smoke
Burglary and theft
Storm and rainfall
Most chosen
Comprehensive
Also your own accidents in the home.
A television that has fallen over
A stain on the sofa
Damage while doing DIY
Where things go wrong
Sub-limits
A separate limit for each category, apart from your total sum insured.
Jewellery and watches
Audiovisual equipment
Possessions away from home
What is covered
Situation
Extended
Comprehensive
Fire or water damage in the home
Yes
Yes
Burglary with signs of forced entry
Yes
Yes
A bicycle from a locked shed
Sometimes
Sometimes
A phone dropped from your hands onto the tiles
No
Yes
A laptop from the car without signs of forced entry
No
No
Wear and gradual damage
No
No
This overview is general in nature and is not personal advice. What is actually covered, including exclusions, limits and the excess, is set out in the policy conditions and the insurance card (verzekeringskaart) of the insurer; you receive both before you take out cover. Taking out cover without advice? Then read what execution only means for you.
Where things go wrong in practice
Four points that make the difference between a policy that pays out and one that does not.
Permanent fixtures belong to the structure
A fitted kitchen, sanitary ware, the central heating system, a fixed staircase, floor covering that has been glued down and sun blinds on the facade fall under the buildings insurance. Loose cupboards, curtains, rugs, lighting on a plug and white goods that are not built in are contents. Borderline cases are a free-standing fridge in a run of kitchen units and a laid laminate floor; put these to your adviser when taking out the policy and have the choice recorded on the policy schedule.
Garden, shed and outbuilding
Garden furniture, the barbecue and the tools in the shed are contents, but outside the home a separate and often low maximum applies. Theft from a shed is usually only covered where there are signs of forced entry to a sound lock. The shed itself and an attached veranda belong to the structure, as do solar panels on the roof. A free-standing garden house has to be declared separately on the policy schedule with many insurers.
One event, two policies
In a fire or a burst pipe the damage affects both covers at once: the building and the contents. If both policies are with the same insurer, there is one assessor, the allocation is settled internally and you usually pay one excess. With two companies that causes delay and discussion, at precisely the moment you have to arrange temporary accommodation and repairs.
What falls outside the contents cover
Excluded are wear and tear, construction faults and gradual influences such as penetrating damp and wet rot. Damage from groundwater or flooding from primary flood defences is not paid, nor is damage caused by vermin or by your own pet. Collections, jewellery and audiovisual equipment carry a sub-limit; above that limit a valuables insurance policy is needed. If you carry out major work, report it in advance, otherwise cover during the work can be limited.
Theft outside the home
Away from the home the cover is limited and requirements often apply to how items are locked away.
Underinsurance is calculated proportionately, even for small claims
If your home contents are insured for half their actual value, you will be paid only half even on a claim of a thousand euros. Use the insurer's contents value calculator; completed correctly, it usually gives a guarantee against underinsurance. Your policy schedule states whether you have one.
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 kitchen fall under the contents or the structure?
A fitted kitchen permanently attached to the home belongs to the buildings insurance. Loose appliances you would take with you when you move are contents. With a separate free-standing fridge or an oven that is not built in, discussion arises. So have it recorded when taking out the policy which items are on which policy, certainly if the two are with different insurers.
Are solar panels contents?
No, panels fixed to the roof belong to the buildings insurance, together with the inverter if it is permanently mounted. Do report the installation to your insurer, because it raises the rebuild value of the home. Loose portable panels or a home battery on a plug can be contents; check that when you apply.
Are garden furniture and tools covered?
Yes, as contents, but outside the home a separate and usually low maximum applies. Theft from a shed or garage is only paid where there are demonstrable signs of forced entry to a sound lock. If tools disappear from an open garden, there is usually no cover. Store expensive equipment indoors and keep the receipts digitally.
Do I have to take out contents and buildings cover with the same insurer?
You do not have to, but it saves a lot of discussion when you claim. One insurer sends one assessor, allocates the costs internally and usually charges one excess for the same event. With two companies a dispute can arise about whether an item was a permanent fixture. So compare not only the separate premiums but also the conditions for combining them.
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.
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