Deed of division · owner's interest · fractions
A flat and buildings insurance (opstalverzekering)
As the owner of a flat you do not take out buildings insurance yourself; the owners' association does that for the whole building. The question is what then remains for your account.
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Deze pagina in het Nederlands: Een appartement en de opstalverzekering.
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In brief
In a building divided into flats you buy an apartment right: a share in the whole property plus the exclusive use of one home. The building is legally indivisible and is therefore insured in its entirety by the owners' association. Article 5:112(1) of the Dutch Civil Code requires the division regulations to contain a provision about that insurance. A buildings policy for your floor alone therefore does not exist and would add nothing.
What the building policy does not cover is everything you have added to the structure. A more expensive kitchen, a second bathroom, a plastered wall, a floor with underfloor heating: those improvements are as a rule not included, because the sum insured is based on the original finish. There is owner's interest cover for that, which you arrange separately or through your contents policy. See insuring owner's interest with a VvE.
Your home contents falls outside the association's policy in any event. You insure furniture, appliances, clothing and bicycles in the communal store yourself; see home contents insurance for a flat. If you want to know how the division of roles between you and the association works further, read insuring a flat with a VvE and who insures what with a VvE.
This page deals with one situation. The full overview is on Compare buildings insurance (opstalverzekering).
What to look out for
Four points you have to check yourself as a flat owner.
Read the deed of division, not just the policy
The deed and the regulations determine what is communal and what is private. Load-bearing walls, the roof, the facade, the foundations, pipework up to the branch connection and usually the window frames are communal. Non-load-bearing internal walls, your finishings and your sanitary ware often are not. That line determines who bears the loss, not the question of who is unluckiest.
The excess is passed on
The association pays the excess out of communal funds, or passes it on to the owner in whose flat the damage arose. That is a decision of the general meeting and differs from one association to another. Ask about this before you have a claim, because an excess on a building policy for a whole block is higher than for a family home.
Underinsurance affects all owners at once
If the rebuild value of the block has been set too low, the insurer pays proportionately, and that works through into each owner's contribution in the fractional ownership share. Ask whether there is a recent valuation and whether the policy has an index clause; Article 7:960 of the Dutch Civil Code limits the payment to the actual loss in any event.
Damage from above or from the neighbours
A leak from the flat above is not automatically a matter for the building policy. If it concerns your own belongings, that is contents damage and possibly a liability matter between neighbours under Article 6:162 of the Dutch Civil Code. Your own liability insurance then plays a part, not the buildings policy.
What does your premium depend on?
- Rebuild value of the complex — set for the whole building, not per home
- Year of construction and construction type — decisive for fire compartmentation and repair costs
- Business premises on the ground floor — catering or a shop raises the fire risk for everyone
- State of repair and long-term maintenance plan — taken into account when underwriting
- The association's excess — a higher excess lowers the premium per flat
- Your own share — the contribution is divided by the fractions in the deed
Insurers weigh these details differently. That is why comparing pays off.
What is covered
| Situation | The association's policy | Your own policy |
|---|---|---|
| Fire damages the facade, the stairwell and the load-bearing structure | Yes | No |
| The more expensive kitchen you had installed after purchase is lost in that fire | No | Yes |
| Your bicycles disappear from the communal store | No | Yes |
| A storm lifts tiles off the block and rain comes into the top floor | Yes | No |
| The underfloor heating you had installed is damaged in a leak | No | Yes |
| The lift breaks down because the drive has worn out | No | No |
Everything you have added to the structure after purchase you insure as owner's interest; wear and tear of installations comes out of the maintenance budget.
Frequently asked questions
The questions we are asked most often about this.
Do I have to take out buildings insurance for my flat myself?
No. The building is insured as a whole by the owners' association, and a separate buildings policy for one floor does not exist. What you arrange yourself is your contents and your owner's interest: the kitchen, bathroom, floor and other finishings you installed after purchase and which are not included in the block's sum insured.
My mortgage lender asks for a policy schedule. What do I supply?
The policy schedule for the association's buildings insurance, together with proof that you are a member and that the contribution is being paid. The lender wants to see that the security is insured; that the contract is in the association's name and not yours is usual and no objection.
What if the association is dormant and has arranged nothing?
There is then formally an association, but no board, no funds and possibly no policy. The building is then uninsured, while you do share in the costs of a fire. A dormant association can still take out building insurance; that requires a board decision, a list of members and a substantiated rebuild value.
Is my balcony or roof terrace communal?
Usually the structure is communal and you only have the exclusive right of use. Damage to the balcony floor or the balustrade is then a matter for the association. If someone is injured because part of it comes loose, Article 6:174 of the Dutch Civil Code on liability for a defective structure comes into play; that claim belongs on the association's liability insurance, not on the building policy.
Read more
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