Anyone who enforces the law interferes with someone else's rights: in justice and enforcement the claim is rarely about a broken object and almost always about whether the action was within powers and proportionate.
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 your own premium with the calculator.
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
Enforcement organisations — special investigating officer services, private security firms, bailiffs' offices, probation services, custody and escorted transport — carry a risk other service providers do not know: the lawfully inflicted detriment. An arrest, a search, a seizure or a detention is intended to restrict someone's freedom or possessions. If the power was lacking, or the means used was heavier than necessary, that same act is unlawful under Article 6:162 of the Dutch Civil Code and the organisation is liable for its subordinates under Article 6:170 DCC.
That makes the record-keeping more important than the policy itself. Public and employers' liability insurance pays for injury and property damage, but the assessment of your file starts with the official report, the use-of-force report and the camera footage. Pure financial loss — a wrongful seizure that costs a debtor a contract, a deadline missed in enforcement proceedings — falls outside the AVB and belongs on professional indemnity insurance.
The second axis is your own staff. Aggression and violence towards enforcement officers is not an incident but a structural feature of the work. Article 7:658 of the Dutch Civil Code places a duty of care on you that goes further than a radio and a stab vest: de-escalation training, a reporting structure and aftercare following an incident are among the measures you will be judged on.
What does insurance for justice and enforcement cover?
The structure of the cover in three parts, with an overview per situation below.
The basics
Liability
AVB for property damage and injury, BAV for professional errors.
Damage to third parties
Employers' liability
Care, custody and control as an extension
Your business
Assets and continuity
Business contents, goods and lost turnover during downtime.
Business contents at replacement value as new
Goods at cost price
Business interruption or additional costs
If you employ people
Staff
Sickness absence, accidents and the traffic risk.
Continued pay for 104 weeks
Group personal accident
WEGAS for traffic risks
What is covered
Situation
AVB
BAV
Cyber
Injury to a visitor or customer
Yes
No
No
Damage to a client's property
Sometimes
No
No
Financial loss caused by an advisory or calculation error
No
Yes
No
Downtime after a ransomware attack
No
No
Yes
Data breach involving personal data
No
Sometimes
Yes
Damage to property in your care
No
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.
Powers and proportionality determine the claim
The key question after an arrest, detention or use of force is not whether there is injury, but whether you had the power and whether the means matched the aim. An insurer tests that against your own use-of-force report and against the instructions you gave your staff. If a recorded use-of-force instruction is missing, or the officer demonstrably departed from it deliberately, the file shifts towards intent or wilful recklessness and therefore outside the cover.
Pure financial loss is not on the AVB
A wrongful seizure, a writ served on the wrong address, a missed enforcement deadline or an incorrect entry in a file damages nothing and injures nobody — it only costs the other party money. That is pure financial loss and it is excluded on an AVB. Firms carrying out official duties or debt collection therefore need professional indemnity cover alongside the AVB, with the cost of defence in disciplinary proceedings expressly included.
Fines, penalty payments and disciplinary measures cannot be insured
An administrative fine, a penalty payment, a disciplinary reprimand or the suspension of an officer's powers cannot be passed on to an insurer: a punishment aimed at you personally loses its effect if a third party pays it. What can be arranged is the costs of defence in disciplinary or complaints proceedings. Check whether that cost section has its own limit and whether it also applies where the complaint is ultimately dismissed.
Aftercare after aggression is a cover question, not an HR matter
After a violent incident the first week determines whether someone comes back. Psychological aftercare, trauma counselling and reintegration are not automatically included in personal accident cover, which usually only pays out on permanent disability or death. Discuss a separate provision for aftercare and at the same time test your sickness absence cover against the full period of continued wage payment. An employee off work long term after aggression costs you two years of wages plus a replacement.
What does your premium depend on?
Nature of the powers — A patrol service without powers to use force is assessed differently from an officer with handcuffs and a baton, or a service carrying out escorted transport.
Public contact per shift — The more often staff enter people's homes unannounced, the higher the chance both of a liability claim and of injury to the member of staff.
Use-of-force instruction and level of training — Demonstrable de-escalation training, periodic assessment and a recorded reporting procedure reduce the risk and with it the premium.
Working alone or in pairs — Working single-handed in the evening and at night weighs heavily in employers' liability and in group personal accident cover.
Official or advisory duties — As soon as you serve writs, levy seizures or manage files for third parties, a professional indemnity section is added with its own sum insured.
Complaints and disciplinary history — Insurers look at the number of complaints and disciplinary cases in recent years, even where they were dismissed, because it predicts the cost of defence.
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.
Is damage caused by my employee's use of force covered?
If the officer acted within their powers and proportionately, injury to the person concerned falls under the liability cover; you are liable for your subordinates under Article 6:170 of the Dutch Civil Code. If they demonstrably acted deliberately outside their powers, the cover for that act falls away. Your use-of-force report and instructions are the evidence.
Who pays for the loss from a wrongful seizure?
That is pure financial loss: nothing is broken and nobody is injured, the aggrieved party only suffers financially. An AVB excludes it. You need professional indemnity insurance that names the official duties. Note how claims made cover works: what matters is when the claim reaches you, not when the seizure was levied.
Can I insure the suspension of an officer's powers or an administrative fine?
No. Sanctions of a punitive nature cannot be insured, because insurance would take away their effect. What can be insured is the cost of legal defence in disciplinary, complaints or objection proceedings. Ask about it expressly, because that section is not standard on every policy and often has its own limit per set of proceedings.
Are hired-in security staff and agency workers covered?
Usually yes, provided you declared them when you applied and the payroll or hire cost was included. Without that declaration a gap arises: under Article 6:171 of the Dutch Civil Code you are also liable for non-subordinate assistants working on your instructions. Also check whether the hirer or the supplier bears the sickness absence risk.
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.
