Business contents and goods insurance for self-employed professionals
As a self-employed professional your things are rarely in one place: at home, in a storage unit, in the van and sometimes at a client's. Where they were at the time of the loss determines whether a payment is made.
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In brief
There are two different items on this policy. Business contents is everything you use on a lasting basis in order to work: equipment, furniture, machinery, the fit-out of a practice or workspace. Goods are your trading stock, raw and auxiliary materials, semi-finished goods and packaging material. Each gets its own sum insured, because they move in value differently: the business contents change a few times a year, the stock sometimes weekly. You can read the general product explanation on the page business contents insurance.
The point at which self-employed professionals come unstuck is the risk address. A policy covers property at the address stated on the policy schedule, and nowhere else. If you work from home and also rent a storage unit or a space in a multi-tenant business building, that second address must be declared separately. The same applies if you regularly work at clients' premises or at trade fairs. An incorrect or incomplete declaration on the application falls under the duty of disclosure in Article 7:928 of the Dutch Civil Code; the consequences are set out in Article 7:930 of the Dutch Civil Code and range from a proportionately lower payment to no payment at all.
The second pitfall is the level of the amount. If you insure too low, the insurer pays proportionately: with half the cover, half of even a small loss. If you insure too high, you pay premium for nothing, because Article 7:960 of the Dutch Civil Code provides that you may not profit from an indemnity insurance. So put your business contents on a list once a year with the year of purchase and the amount, and take the peak in your season as the starting point for the stock.
This page deals with one situation. The full overview is on Compare business contents insurance.
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What to look out for
Four points that lead to disputes for a sole trader more often than the form of cover does.
Your personal policy does not cover your work equipment
Almost every home contents insurance contains a provision about property used for profession or business. Sometimes it is excluded entirely, more often a low sub-limit applies that suits one work laptop and not a complete workplace, a stock of webshop items or a set of measuring instruments. Where the things are kept is not decisive. What you use them for is.
Stock moves, the sum insured does not
Anyone who buys in for the festive season or the building season has weeks in which the stock is several times the average. If a fire happens just then, the amount on the policy schedule counts. Discuss in advance whether you work with a fixed sum at peak level or with a stock clause setting an agreed range.
Tools on the road fall under a different policy
Business contents insurance covers property at an address, not property in motion. Hand tools and machinery that travel with you belong on a tools insurance; goods you carry yourself on a own goods in transit insurance. Watch the overnight clause here: many policies exclude theft from a vehicle between the evening and the morning.
Three exclusions that only come to light when a loss occurs
First, theft without signs of forced entry to a properly locked space. Second, damage from gradually acting influences: damp, condensation, corrosion, vermin and wear and tear. Third, third-party property in your have in your care — a client's equipment, items being worked on — which falls under the care, custody and control exclusion. Money, negotiable documents and data files are also outside as standard; the last of these belongs with a cyber insurance.
What does your premium depend on?
- Sum insured for business contents: the replacement value of equipment, furniture and fittings
- Sum insured for goods: the stock at the highest point of your year
- Nature of the work: a home office is assessed differently from a workshop
- Premises and construction: structure, roof covering and the neighbours in the same building
- Prevention and security: locks and fittings, alarm, firefighting equipment and smoke detectors
- Type of cover and excess: extended or comprehensive, and what you bear yourself per event
Insurers weigh these details differently. That is where your saving is.
What is covered on business contents and goods
| Situation | Extended | Comprehensive |
|---|---|---|
| A burst pipe at the neighbours upstairs floods your stock | Yes | Yes |
| You knock over a display cabinet yourself while rearranging | No | Yes |
| The extraction system is destroyed during a burglary at your workshop | Yes | Yes |
| The freezer fails because of a power cut and your stock spoils | No | Provided that |
| Your stock is worth less because the collection has gone out of fashion | No | No |
| Things you took home with you are stolen there | No | No |
The cover applies at the address stated on the policy, not wherever your things happen to be.
Frequently asked questions
This is what people ask us most.
I work from home. Is that reason enough for a separate policy?
That depends on what you keep there. If it is a laptop and a desk, extending your home contents insurance is often enough. If you keep equipment, stock or tools with which you earn your turnover, the sub-limit for business property falls short and your own business contents and goods insurance is the clearer route. In both cases, tell your household insurer that you work from home.
I rent a storage unit. Is it automatically included?
No. The cover applies at the addresses stated on the policy schedule. A rented unit, a garage or a space in a multi-tenant business building must be declared separately, together with the security of that building. If you move the stock or add an address, report it; an unreported location leads to the whole claim being refused.
Will I be paid the replacement value as new or the market value?
Business contents are usually settled at replacement value as new, with a switching point: if the item is older than a period named in the conditions or the market value has dropped below a certain proportion of the replacement value, settlement is at market value. Trading stock is settled at purchase value or replacement value, not at selling price. Have the chosen arrangement set out before you sign.
What happens if my stock turns out to be higher than insured?
There is then underinsurance and the insurer pays proportionately, even on a small loss. Some policies have a clause that absorbs a limited overrun, provided you agreed it in advance. An increase in the meantime can usually take effect immediately, and that is considerably cheaper than the correction afterwards on a claim settlement.
Every situation is different. For these situations we have a separate page.
- Compare business contents insuranceThe main page
- Insuring business contents and goods as a self-employed professionalWorkspace at home, contents, duty of disclosure
- Business contents and goods for self-employed professionalsWorkplace, stock, working from home
- Business contents insurance for shopsShop fittings, stock, season