As soon as you not only carry someone else's goods but also store, handle and administer them, who is liable and up to what amount changes at every link.
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
In this sector your liability is almost always limited per kilogram and not per euro. Under the CMR a limit of 8.33 SDR per kilo applies to cross-border road haulage; under the AVC for domestic transport it is 3.40 euros per kilo. For light, valuable consignments that means a fraction of the real value. Carrier's liability insurance follows that limit, because it covers your liability under the law, not the value of the cargo.
Anyone who wants the full value covered needs goods in transit insurance. That is independent of fault and of limits: it insures the consignment itself. The practical question is who takes it out, you or your client. Record that arrangement in writing, because the most common loss in this sector is the one where it turns out afterwards that both parties thought the other had insured it.
As soon as goods stand still with you, the regime changes again. Storage, order picking and value added logistics are subject to different conditions from transport, with their own limits and their own duties of care. Your fire policy covers your building and your business contents, but the third-party goods in your warehouse are property in your custody and have to appear on the policy in so many words.
What does insurance for transport and logistics 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.
Determine for each job which role you are in
Carrier, freight forwarder, warehouse keeper and logistics service provider are four roles with four liability regimes and four sets of conditions. Anyone acting as a freight forwarder arranges transport and is not the carrier themselves; anyone who drives themselves despite the instructions does become one. So state on every order confirmation which role you are fulfilling and which conditions you declare applicable, and make sure your policy names the same roles as your commercial practice.
Third-party goods in your warehouse
Everything you store for a client is property in your have in your care, and that category is excluded as standard on public and employers' liability insurance. Fire, water and theft in your warehouse therefore affect not your own property but your client's. Declare the average and peak value of goods stored, and watch for seasonal peaks; anyone underinsured in the busiest month of the year receives a proportionally reduced payment.
Delay and lost production are a different matter
If a consignment arrives late and your client's line stops, nothing is damaged and the issue is pure financial loss. The transport conventions also cap compensation for delay sharply, usually at the freight charge. Businesses supplying industry just in time systematically underestimate this difference. Set out in your conditions what you pay on a delay and do not accept contractual penalties, because those cannot be insured.
Theft comes with requirements you have to know in advance
For valuable or attractive cargo, insurers impose conditions on the route, the parking place and leaving the vehicle: parking only at a secure site, not standing unattended within a set number of kilometres of departure, alarms and locks active. If you do not meet those, no payment follows, even if the theft was professionally carried out. Build those requirements into the instructions to drivers and warehouse staff.
What does your premium depend on?
Type of load. Bulk, general cargo, electronics, pharmaceuticals and dangerous goods each carry their own vulnerability to theft and damage.
Division of roles in the chain. Driving yourself, subcontracting, forwarding or storing determines which liability regime and which rate applies.
Value stored and peak moments. The average and highest value of third-party goods in your warehouse drives the sum insured.
Weight carried and annual turnover. Tonnage and turnover together form the basis of calculation for carrier's liability cover.
Security of the premises. Certification of burglary protection, cameras, fencing and access control all count towards acceptance and premium.
Territory and modes of transport. Domestic, Europe or beyond and the use of sea, rail or air transport affect the regime and the premium.
Insurers weigh these details differently. That is where your saving is.
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.
Why does carrier's insurance not pay for the whole load?
Because it covers your liability under the law, and that is limited per kilogram: 8.33 SDR under the CMR and 3.40 euros per kilo under the AVC. For light, valuable goods that limit lies far below the real value. If you want the full value covered, you need goods in transit insurance, which insures the consignment itself and not your liability.
Are clients' goods in my warehouse insured?
Not automatically. Your fire policy covers your own building and business contents; third-party goods are property in your custody and have to appear separately on the policy. Declare both the average and the peak value, because seasonal peaks create underinsurance and the payment is reduced proportionally. Also record which storage conditions you apply.
Who has to take out the goods in transit insurance?
That follows from your agreement with the client and not from the law. It is often the cargo interest, but you can also offer it as a service. What matters is that it is recorded in writing in the order or in the delivery terms. Without that arrangement it regularly turns out after a loss that nobody had insured the real value.
Is loss through delay covered?
Only to a limited extent. The transport conventions cap compensation for delay sharply, usually at no more than the freight charge. Loss of production at your client is pure financial loss and falls outside the usual covers. Contractual penalties for late delivery are a sanction and therefore cannot be insured. So set out in your own conditions what you do and do not pay on a delay.
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.
