In a bicycle shop the goods item is almost always larger than the business contents, and the way you store and charge batteries determines whether you are accepted.
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
A premium indication, not personal advice. Prefer to talk it through? Call 072 - 509 24 56.
In brief
The business contents of a bicycle shop consists of the workshop fit-out, assembly stands, wheel truing stand, tools, the shop fittings and the window display. The goods are the bicycles in stock, the loose batteries and the parts. With the rise of electric bicycles, the goods item has tipped the balance in most shops: the stock is worth more than everything fixed around it.
That brings out two risks that matter less elsewhere in retail. The first is theft: high value per item, small volume and a window onto the street make the shop attractive for a ram raid. The second is fire from lithium batteries during charging or after impact damage. Insurers therefore set requirements for where you charge, for the number of batteries and for the separation from the retail space.
Not covered are customers' bicycles in for repair or storage, theft without signs of forced entry such as shoplifting, batteries charged outside the prescribed space, and wear and tear. What you declare about battery storage falls under the duty of disclosure in Article 7:928 of the Dutch Civil Code.
What does business contents insurance cover for bicycle shops?
The structure of the cover in three parts, with an overview per situation below.
Your business assets
Business contents
Machinery, equipment, furniture and fixed fittings.
At replacement value as new
Fire, water and burglary
Tenant's improvements separately
Stock
Goods
Trading stock, raw materials and finished products.
Purchase value or cost price
Declare seasonal peaks
Spoilage as an extension
Optional
Extensions
What is excluded as standard.
Third-party property
Money and securities
Business interruption
What is covered
Situation
Business contents
Goods
Fire and smoke damage
Yes
Yes
Burglary with signs of forced entry
Yes
Yes
Water damage from a burst pipe
Yes
Yes
Customers' property being worked on
No
No
Spoilage due to refrigeration failure
Sometimes
Sometimes
Wear and deferred maintenance
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.
Where things go wrong in practice
Four points that make the difference between a policy that pays out and one that does not.
Battery storage is an acceptance question
Lithium batteries are the reason insurers assess bicycle shops differently from other shops. Common requirements are: charging in a fire-resistant cabinet or in a separate space, a maximum number of batteries inside the shop, distance from escape routes, and keeping damaged or returned batteries apart. Those requirements appear as a clause on the policy. If charging takes place outside the prescribed space, cover for the resulting fire lapses.
Ram raids and the window onto the street
An electric bicycle is expensive, light and immediately saleable. A successful ram raid fills a van within minutes. Insurers look at roller shutters, at bollards or posts in front of the frontage, at an alarm with a monitoring centre connection and sometimes at fog generators. Some of those requirements are a condition of acceptance, others earn a discount. Ask in advance which measure has which effect.
Customers' bicycles are not stock
What is in the workshop for repair, what you have in storage or what you took in part exchange but have not yet paid for is not your own property. You have those bicycles in your care, and items in your care, custody and control are precisely what is excluded on your public and employers' liability insurance. Insure them under a third-party property section with a limit that fits a busy Saturday in spring, not an average Tuesday.
What is not included
Shoplifting during opening hours is not paid for: there are no signs of forced entry. The same applies to embezzlement by an employee, to stock discrepancies that appear at the count and to a bicycle that does not come back from a test ride. Damage during transport to a trade fair or test day also falls outside the policy without transport cover. Report claims and go to the police within the period stated in the conditions (Article 7:941 of the Dutch Civil Code).
What does your premium depend on?
Share of electric bicycles in the stock. High value per item and the presence of batteries drive both the theft and the fire risk.
How batteries are stored and charged. Fire-resistant cabinet, separate charging space and the number of batteries inside the shop.
Separation between workshop and shop. Construction type and compartmentation between charging, assembling and selling.
Theft prevention at the frontage. Roller shutter, bollards, alarm class and monitoring centre connection determine acceptance.
Peak stock in the pre-season. Stock rises sharply in spring. The sum insured must carry that peak.
Third-party property section and excess. Including customers' bicycles in for repair and the level of excess chosen.
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.
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.
Not under the ordinary cover. Repair bicycles, stored bicycles and part-exchanged bicycles that are not yet yours are in your care, custody and control. Your liability insurance excludes items in your care and your goods item only covers your own stock. A third-party property section is needed for that, with a limit matching the number of bicycles inside on a peak day.
Are there requirements for charging batteries?
Almost always. Insurers prescribe where and how you charge: in a fire-resistant cabinet or separate space, with a maximum number of batteries, away from escape routes and with damaged units kept apart. Those requirements appear as a clause on the policy. If you consistently charge outside it, there is a real chance the insurer will rely on that clause in the event of a fire.
Is shoplifting covered?
No. Theft is only covered if signs of forced entry to the premises have been left behind. A bicycle ridden out of the door during opening hours does not fall under that, any more than goods missing at the stocktake. There is no property cover for this risk. It is a matter of supervision, shop floor layout and securing the bicycles on the floor.
Is stock I take to a test day covered?
Only if you have included cover away from the insured address, and transport cover while in transit. Without those extensions the cover ends at the door of your premises. If you regularly take bicycles to trade fairs, test days or events, have that put expressly on the policy, including the question of how the bicycles are kept there overnight.
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.
