Communal part · reporting · Article 6:174 DCC
Buildings insurance (opstalverzekering) in a VvE in practice
The policy is in the association's name; the damage is usually in one home. Almost every dispute within a VvE is about who reports the claim, who pays and where the communal part ends.
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Deze pagina in het Nederlands: De opstalverzekering bij een VvE in de praktijk.
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In brief
An owners' association's buildings insurance covers the whole building: the structure, roof, facade, foundations, communal installations and the original finish of the homes. That means damage in one flat is handled on a policy to which all the owners contribute. The board or managing agent is the contracting party; an individual owner therefore in principle reports through the board and not directly. Anyone who skips that finds an insurer with no instruction from the policyholder.
Report quickly. Article 7:941 of the Dutch Civil Code requires the policyholder to report the damage as soon as they are reasonably aware of it and to cooperate in limiting its extent. With a leak that runs on for weeks while the general meeting has yet to meet, the insurer can reduce the payment for the part that was avoidable. Practical steps are set out under reporting a claim in a VvE.
An important distinction: the building policy pays for damage to the building, not for the association's liability. If a piece of facade panelling falls on a parked car or on a passer-by, the association as the possessor of the structure is liable under Article 6:174 of the Dutch Civil Code, even without fault. That claim belongs on the the VvE's liability insurance.
This page deals with one situation. The full overview is on Compare buildings insurance (opstalverzekering).
What to look out for
Four situations that almost always lead to discussion within an association.
A leak from an upper floor to a lower one
Water from a burst pipe in a flat above damages the neighbours' ceiling. The repair of the structure falls on the building policy; the contents and the owner's own finishings do not. For those last two, the resident depends on their own policy or on holding the neighbour liable under Article 6:162 of the Dutch Civil Code.
The excess: communal funds or the person who caused it
Who bears the excess is a decision of the general meeting and should be recorded in the minutes. Without a decision the association pays it out of communal funds, which means all owners contribute in the fractional ownership share to damage in one home. Record this before the first claim arises.
Deferred maintenance is an exclusion
Damage resulting from poor maintenance, corroded pipework, blocked rainwater outlets or a roof that has needed replacing for yearsis excluded on virtually every building policy. The board can also be held personally responsible for it; that risk sits with the directors' and officers' liability insurance.
Letting and changed use within the block
If a flat is let by the room, offered to tourists or converted into consulting rooms, the risk for the whole building changes. That change should be reported to the insurer; if it is not, Articles 7:928 and 7:930 of the Dutch Civil Code on the duty of disclosure and its consequences for payment come into play.
What does your premium depend on?
- Number of apartment rights — determines the extent of what has to be insured
- Rebuild value from a valuation — set for the block as a whole
- Mixed use — shops or catering in the building count heavily
- Claims history of the association — particularly repeated water and storm claims
- Excess per event — and whether that differs for water damage
- Maintenance and management — an up-to-date long-term maintenance plan and a professional managing agent
Insurers weigh these details differently. That is why comparing pays off.
What is covered
| Situation | Buildings insurance | Liability insurance |
|---|---|---|
| A fire in the consumer unit damages the stairwell and two flats | Yes | No |
| A leak in the communal stack pipe damages the structure of two homes | Yes | No |
| A delivery driver trips over a loose paving slab on the communal path | No | Yes |
| A branch from the tree in the communal garden falls on a neighbour's car | No | Yes |
| The regular cleaner falls off a stepladder in the stairwell and is left unfit for work | No | Provided that |
| Water damage because the rainwater outlet had been blocked for years | No | No |
The building policy pays for damage to the building itself; anything a third party charges to you as an association runs through the liability cover.
Frequently asked questions
The questions we are asked most often about this.
Can an individual owner report a claim themselves?
You may report it, but the insurer settles with the policyholder, and that is the association. If the report bypasses the board, delay arises in instructing the assessor and the repairer. So always inform the board or the managing agent immediately, even if you have already taken photographs and had a leak stopped.
Is my new bathroom included on the association's policy?
As a rule not. The sum insured is based on the building as completed, including the standard finish. What an owner has improved since then falls under owner's interest and belongs on their own contents or owner's interest cover. The general meeting can decide that improvements are insured collectively, but that must then appear on the policy schedule.
Who is liable if a roof tile hits someone?
The association, as the possessor of the building. Article 6:174 of the Dutch Civil Code imposes strict liability on the possessor of a structure that does not meet the standards that may reasonably be expected of it; no fault is required. This damage falls not under the building insurance but under the VvE's liability insurance, which has to be taken out separately.
Does the policy cover damage caused deliberately by a resident?
No. Article 7:952 of the Dutch Civil Code excludes damage caused by the insured intentionally or through recklessness. Within an association that is assessed per insured, so that one owner's intent does not automatically remove cover for the others. The association can recover the loss from the person who caused it.
Read more
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