Card cover · business travel · not a bank
Business credit card for self-employed professionals
Finass acts as an intermediary in insurance and not in credit cards. Even so, the question is a fair one: a business card comes with covers that self-employed professionals take for full insurance.
- Several insurers compared objectively
- 9.5 customer rating for a new policy
- AFM licence 12016589
- Personal 072 - 509 24 56, weekdays 9–17
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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.
In brief
We do not open accounts and do not issue cards. For that you go to a bank or payment institution. See also business account and, for credit, business finance. A credit card with a spending limit is a form of credit: Please note: borrowing money costs money. Compare providers on the annual percentage rate of charge (APR), because that includes not only the interest but also the fixed costs of the card. What we do advise on is the insurance cover attached to such a card. That often takes the form of travel cover, purchase protection or excess cover on a hire car, and those covers are narrower than their names suggest.
The most important limitation is the payment condition. Card-linked travel cover normally only applies where the trip was paid for wholly or largely with that card. If you book a flight through a client, a customer or another account, the cover falls away without anyone pointing it out. On top of that, the cover is usually limited to the cardholder alone and sometimes to a set number of travel days per trip.
For a self-employed professional the gap lies mainly with work. What you take with you in order to work is not luggage but business equipment: laptops, cameras, measuring instruments, samples and trading goods are excluded on virtually every travel cover. Liability is not included either. Anyone working on location needs liability insurance for self-employed professionals, and anyone advising or designing needs professional indemnity insurance.
This page deals with one situation. The full overview is on SME insurance package.
Insurance never stands alone
A mortgage, loan or investment often touches your insurance too. We look at the bigger picture and point you to the right specialist whenever something falls outside insurance itself.
Financial
Overview
AdviceWhat card cover does not do
Four differences between the cover on a card and your own business policy.
Business equipment is not luggage
Tools, equipment, samples and trading stock fall outside the luggage cover on a card. If your work laptop is damaged in transit or a case of equipment disappears, that is not luggage damage but a business loss. There is separate cover for equipment away from the business; see business travel insurance and transport and business travel.
No liability cover
If you damage a floor, a server cabinet or a facade at a client's premises, that is liability under Article 6:162 of the Dutch Civil Code. No card cover pays for that. If you work on or with property belonging to the client, the care, custody and control exclusionalso comes into play: damage to property in your custody is not covered on the standard policy and calls for separate care, custody and control cover.
Cancellation because of work is almost never covered
Cancellation cover works with a exhaustive list of valid reasons: illness, accident, the death of a close relative, serious damage to the home. An assignment that overruns, a client who postpones or a deadline that shifts is not among them. For a self-employed professional that is precisely the most common reason for calling off a business trip.
Your own inability to work stays uninsured
If you break a wrist while away, card cover at most arranges repatriation and medical costs. Not the turnover you lose in the weeks afterwards. That is the territory of disability insurance or, for permanent injury, a personal accident policy for the self-employed. Report claims and periods off work in good time; Article 7:941 of the Dutch Civil Code requires you to notify as soon as you can reasonably be aware of it.
What does your premium depend on?
- Nature of your work: the insured capacity on the policy schedule drives acceptance and rate
- Travel habits: the number of travel days per year and the territory
- Value of equipment taken along: the sum for equipment away from the business
- Turnover: the usual basis for liability cover
- Excess chosen: per event, sometimes different for equipment
- Waiting period for income cover: the longer you bridge the gap yourself, the lower the premium
Insurers weigh these details differently. That is where your saving is.
What is covered
| Situation | Cover shown on the card | Your own business policy |
|---|---|---|
| You break your ankle at a trade fair in Germany and have to be brought back to the Netherlands with assistance | Yes | Yes |
| The hire company charges you the excess after a dent in the door of your hire car | Provided that | Provided that |
| Your card is used for online purchases after being stolen | Yes | No |
| Your flight is cancelled, you miss the presentation and the contract goes elsewhere | No | No |
| You lose your passport while away and need an emergency document and an extra night's stay | Provided that | Yes |
| Your partner travels with you at their own expense and falls ill while there | No | Provided that |
What a card does is set out in the card conditions. What a policy does depends on the sections you choose.
Frequently asked questions
This is what people ask us most.
Does Finass arrange a business credit card?
No. We act as an independent insurance adviser and do not act as intermediaries in credit or payment services. You apply for a business card at your bank or at a payment institution. When you do, note the annual percentage rate of charge, because in business too the rule is: note, borrowing money costs money. What we do is assess what the cover on that card actually amounts to and which business policies you need alongside it.
Does the travel cover on my card replace business travel insurance?
Not for work-related risks. Card cover focuses on the trip: delays, medical costs, luggage. Business travel insurance also covers equipment you take with you for work, and can be extended with liability during the trip. Also check whether your card cover only applies where the trip was paid for with that card.
Can I recover the cost of a card through my policy?
No. Subscription and transaction charges on a card are business costs and not an insured loss. If your card is misused after being stolen, the card issuer's liability rules apply, not your insurance. Digital fraud and data theft within your own administration belong with cyber insurance.
Which policy does a self-employed professional need first?
That depends on the work. For physical work on location, public and employers' liability is the first cover. For advisory and design work, professional indemnity. Income protection comes next, because the business owner being unable to work is usually the biggest financial risk. An overview of the combinations is at the insurance package for self-employed professionals.