A company car: who may drive it and how it is used
With a company car it is not your driving that is assessed but that of everyone who gets the key, and that is precisely what makes the declaration of the group of drivers and the use so decisive.
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An adviser checks whether the cover suits your activities
A premium indication, not personal advice. Prefer to talk it through? Call 072 - 509 24 56.
In brief
Third-party liability cover is compulsory by law under Article 2 of the Dutch Motor Insurance Liability Act (WAM) and follows the registration number, not the driver. If the car is registered to your business, the business is the policyholder and the business builds up the no-claims years. Those years cannot simply be transferred to your private policy, nor the other way round — that is the most common disappointment when a company car comes to an end.
Two declarations then determine almost everything. The group of drivers: does one regular driver use it, or do employees, agency staff and engineers take turns? And the use: commuting, business journeys, deliveries, driving lessons, taxi work or hiring out are each a risk class of their own. A car declared for business journeys but in fact delivering parcels differs from the application, and after a loss that is a ground for not paying out.
What the motor policy does not deal with is injury to your own employee behind the wheel. Your company's liability insurance excludes motor vehicles, while Article 7:611 of the Dutch Civil Code requires you to take out proper insurance for employees who use the road for work. That needs road risk or WEGAS cover.
The structure of the cover in three parts, with an overview per situation below.
Third-party liability insurance
Third-party liability insurance is compulsory by law and covers damage you cause to others with your car, not damage to your own car.
Damage to other vehicles
Injury to third parties
Damage to buildings and objects
Damage caused by passengers
Third-party liability + fire and theft
Alongside third-party liability cover, protection against damage to your own car from external causes you cannot prevent.
Fire and storm damage
Theft and burglary
Windscreen breakage and glass damage
Collision with animals
Comprehensive insurance
The most complete cover, including for damage you cause yourself, theft and total loss. We compare Ansvar Idea's comprehensive version with the market.
Hail damage
Damage through your own fault
Vandalism
Unknown party at fault
What is covered
What we do
At Finass
Direct with Ansvar
Comparison across several insurers
Yes
No
Advice based on your own situation
Yes
Provided it is declared
One point of contact for claims
Yes
Provided it is declared
Cancellation with your current insurer arranged
Yes
No
We determine whether Ansvar is the best choice
Yes
No
Advice fees for you as a customer
No
No
What we do
What we do
At Finass
Direct with Ansvar
Comparison across several insurers
Yes
No
Advice based on your own situation
Yes
Sometimes
One point of contact for claims
Yes
Sometimes
Cancellation with your current insurer arranged
Yes
No
We determine whether Ansvar is the best choice
Yes
No
Advice fees for you as a customer
No
No
This overview concerns our service, not the cover. What is actually covered is set out in the policy conditions and on the insurer's insurance card (verzekeringskaart); you receive both before you take out cover.
Where things go wrong in practice
Four points that make the difference between a policy that pays out and one that does not.
The use declared must be the actual use
Deliveries, driving lessons, courier work, taxi services and hiring out to third parties are separate forms of use with a rate of their own. If the work a car does changes — the company vehicle that also delivers meals in the evening, the leased car lent to a subcontractor — declare it. If the use turns out after a loss to differ consistently from the application, the own-damage payout can lapse while the third-party cover towards the victim does continue.
Injury to the driver is not in the third-party cover
Third-party insurance pays for damage you cause to others. If your employee is injured in a single-vehicle accident, there is no injured third party and the third-party policy pays nothing. There is a occupants' accident insurance or road risk cover for that. For an employee who drives for work that is not a luxury but the way you meet your duty of care: Article 7:611 of the Dutch Civil Code is the test here.
With a lease, the leasing company determines the form of own-damage cover
With operating leases the cover is usually part of the contract and the leasing company is the owner and has the interest in the own-damage payout. With financial lease the car is on your balance sheet and you have to arrange own-damage cover yourself, with the lender often named as beneficiary on the policy schedule. Check that naming; if it is missing, the lender may lack its security and can still come to you.
What falls outside the cover
Not covered are: driving without a valid driving licence or under the influence, damage while the car is hired out or used in a way that has not been declared, load and tools in the car (that needs goods in transit or business equipment cover), fines and penalties, and damage through wear or deferred maintenance. Intent also falls outside cover under Article 7:952 of the Dutch Civil Code. The insurer does pay the victim, but it recovers that from the driver.
What does your premium depend on?
Circle of drivers — One regular driver is cheaper than a changing group; the youngest driver weighs heavily.
Stated use — Commuting, business journeys, deliveries, lessons or hiring out are each a risk class of their own.
Number of kilometres per year — Business cars cover more kilometres than private cars; the mileage determines the exposure.
No-claims years in the company's name — These build up in the business's name and are not simply interchangeable with your private policy.
Type of own-damage cover and excess — Third-party, third-party, fire and theft or comprehensive cover, with an excess that can differ per type of claim.
Size of the fleet — From a few vehicles onwards a fleet policy with its own claims weighting is often more favourable.
Insurers weigh these details differently. That is why comparing pays off.
How we arrange it
You request a quoteWe take stock of your activities, turnover and 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.
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.
Do I take my private no-claims years with me to the company car?
Usually not automatically. The business policy is in the name of the business, and insurers rarely transfer privately accrued years to it. The same applies the other way round: when the company car comes to an end, the years accrued in the business do not automatically go with you to your private policy. Ask about this before you switch; some insurers allow a transfer if you were the regular driver yourself.
Is the load in my car insured as well?
No. A motor policy covers the vehicle and the liability, not what is inside it. Tools, samples, equipment and trading stock fall under business equipment or goods cover, often with a clause requiring the vehicle to be empty overnight or to be kept in a locked space. See also insurance for business equipment.
May an employee use the car privately?
In insurance terms that is possible, provided private use was included in the declaration and the driver belongs to the group declared. Set out in a user agreement who may drive, whether third parties may travel in the car and who bears the excess. Without that agreement you cannot pass the excess on after a loss, and the discussion about private kilometres is also left open for tax purposes.
What is the difference with a van on the business?
The structure is the same, but the weighting differs. For vans the payload counts, as do the fitting-out of the load space, built-in tools and the fact that they are more often driven by changing drivers and on building sites. How attractive the contents are to thieves also plays a part. As a result a van almost always falls into a different rating group from a car with the same use.
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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