Liability
- Damage to third parties
- Employers' liability
- Care, custody and control as an extension
Insurance for warehouses
In a warehouse the value lies not in the building but in what is stored there and how it is stacked. That method of storage is the first and heaviest question every insurer asks.
- 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
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 activities
- 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
A warehouse is a large, high space with a lot of combustible material on vertical racking. Fire travels upwards there and along the aisles, and that is precisely why an insurer looks at racking height, compartmentation, fire-fighting provisions and the distance to the outer wall. Two buildings of the same size can be assessed very differently on the basis of how they are laid out.
The second question is who owns the goods. What you store for customers or suppliers is not your own stock but property in your care, custody and control, and those are excluded as standard on ordinary liability insurance. Without a separate care, custody and control section or goods insurance in the owner's name, you are left with the bill after a fire or water damage.
If the doors stay shut after an incident, your turnover stops while rent, salaries and lease instalments continue. You absorb that with business interruption, or with cover for additional costs if you can continue the work elsewhere for a while.
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We compare your business contents 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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What does warehouse insurance cover?
The structure of the cover in three parts, with an overview per situation below.
Assets and continuity
Business contents, goods and lost turnover during downtime.
- Business contents at replacement value as new
- Goods at cost price
- Business interruption or additional costs
Staff
Sickness absence, accidents and the traffic risk.
- Continued pay for 104 weeks
- Group personal accident
- WEGAS for traffic risks
What is covered
| Situation | AVB | BAV | Cyber |
|---|---|---|---|
| Injury to a visitor or customer | Yes | No | No |
| Damage to a client's property | Sometimes | 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 | Sometimes | Yes |
| Damage to property in your care | No | 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.
What does your premium depend on?
- Sum insured for stock. The average and maximum value of the goods present form the basis for the goods premium.
- Nature of the goods stored. Combustibility, susceptibility to water damage and how easily goods can be resold after theft all three count.
- Storage height and racking layout. Stacking higher and narrower aisles increase fire spread and make fire-fighting harder.
- Fire prevention and compartmentation. Sprinklers, a fire alarm system, fire separations and the distance to neighbouring premises determine the maximum size of a loss.
- Security level. The security rating of walls and doors, alarm response and camera surveillance count more heavily the more easily the stock can be resold.
- Third-party property in your care. If you store goods for customers, a separate section with its own sum insured is added.
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.
Stock values move; the sum insured usually does not
Most warehouses have peaks: before the holidays, at the start of a season or just after a large purchase there is a multiple of the annual average on site. If the sum insured is based on that average, you are underinsured at precisely the busiest moment and payment is made in proportion. Ask for a stock clause that absorbs the peak period, and notify one-off large consignments separately.
What you store determines acceptance, and that changes
If you take on a new product segment, start storing batteries, aerosols or plastics, or stack one level higher than declared, the risk changes materially. A departure from the notified method of storage can lead to a reduced or refused payment after a fire. Review your declaration each year, and report a change before the first pallet arrives rather than at the next renewal.
Internal transport causes the day-to-day damage
The large losses come from fire, the many small ones from the forklift truck: a racking upright hit, a sprinkler pipe drilled through, a pallet knocked over. A damaged upright makes the whole rack unstable, and that is a collapse risk. Have racking inspected periodically, keep the inspection reports and make sure damage to racking is reported rather than quietly straightened out with a nudge from the forklift.
What warehouse insurance does not pay for
Not covered are obsolescence, falls in value and deterioration without an identifiable event, as well as inherent defects in the goods stored. A difference between the books and the physical stock counts as a stock discrepancy and not as theft. For theft you need signs of forced entry or a demonstrable event. Damage to third-party property remains outside the liability cover for as long as no care, custody and control section is included.
Frequently asked questions
This is what people ask us most.
Are my customers' goods covered as well?
Not automatically. Property you have in your care for someone else is care, custody and control, and that is excluded as standard on public and employers' liability insurance (AVB). You arrange it with a separate care, custody and control section or by having the owner insure the goods themselves with a waiver of recovery. Set out in your storage conditions which route applies and up to what amount you accept liability, because that is what is examined when a loss occurs.
What does underinsurance mean where stock fluctuates?
If there is more on site at the time of the loss than the sum insured, the insurer pays in proportion. With a partial loss you notice it immediately: only part of a fire in a single rack is paid. A stock clause or a policy with higher peak cover in certain months prevents that. Work with a realistic count and not with an accounting annual average.
I rent the warehouse. What do I insure and what not?
The building is for the owner. You insure the business contents, the stock and the tenant's improvements, that is to say the improvements you have made yourself such as racking, floor coating, refrigeration and partition walls. Those often fall between two stools because the owner does not include them in the buildings value. Put them on the policy expressly and check what the lease says about this.
How long should my business interruption cover run?
Choose the indemnity period on the basis of the time you actually need to be trading at full capacity again: finding new premises, obtaining permits, having racking installed and buying in stock again. With long delivery times or a specific fit-out that runs on longer than a standard period. Work that period out in advance with your suppliers, not after the loss has happened.
Every situation is different. For these situations we have a separate page.
- Compare business contents insuranceThe main page
- Tenant's improvements in propertyWhat the tenant installed, outside the buildings policy, declaring it
- Business contents and goods for self-employed professionalsWorkplace, stock, working from home
- Business contents insurance for shopsShop fittings, stock, season
- Money and valuables insurance: cash procedures and cash in transitCash on hand, transport, robbery
- Business contents insurance for warehousesRacking, stock, sprinklers
- Insurance for warehousing and storageThird-party goods, forklift truck, fire
- Buildings insurance (opstalverzekering) for warehousesStorage, compartmentation, sprinklers
- Tenant's improvements and business contents in propertyWhat you had installed, outside the buildings policy, declaring it
Read more
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.