Liability insurance for a chimney sweeping company
A sweeping company works on flues it did not build and then gives an opinion that residents and their insurers rely on. Both sides produce their own kind of claim.
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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.
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In brief
The most expensive loss in this trade is fire. A plug of soot left behind, a damper not put back, a seam in the flue you did not see, a bird's nest only half removed: if the house then goes up in flames, that is third-party property damage and therefore the territory of public and employers' liability insurance. Do watch the scope: the flue you were working on falls under the exclusion for property being worked on, while the rest of the building falls outside it.
The second risk is on paper. You sign a sweep certificate or an inspection report and the occupier, his installer and his buildings insurer act on it. If you wrongly pass a flue and someone is injured by carbon monoxide as a result, that is injury. But if you are held liable because the buildings insurer refused cover and the owner now recovers his loss from you, the claim rests solely on your judgment. That is pure financial loss and belongs on professional indemnity insurance.
With staff a third risk is added: a fall from height. Ladders, steep tiled roofs, slippery mornings. Article 7:658 of the Dutch Civil Code places the burden of proof on you. You must show what fall protection was available, what instructions were given and how you supervised. Also excluded are asbestos in old flues, administrative fines, and contamination of soil or surface water, for which environmental damage insurance exists.
This page deals with one situation. The full overview is on Compare public and employers' liability insurance (AVB).
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What to look out for
Four subjects that determine in this trade who pays the bill.
The flue is the item you are working on
If a liner breaks, a shaft cracks or you damage the inner pipe of a flue gas duct, that is damage to the object of your assignment. That category is excluded as standard. Ask for a care, custody and control or work-on-property clause and discuss how far it goes when milling out flues internally or fitting a flexible liner.
Your statement is an opinion, not an act
A sweep certificate, a rejection or advice to stop using an appliance is an assessment on which others take decisions. If you are held to account for the consequences of that opinion without anything being damaged or anyone injured, that claim falls outside the AVB. Set out findings factually, with photographs and camera images, and avoid promises about long-term safety.
Working on roofs with staff
Falls from height are the heaviest injury claim in this sector. Provide inspected ladders, roof hooks or edge protection for prolonged work, and record the briefing for each employee. If you use an aerial platform, you also have inspection intervals to consider and the cover on that equipment itself; see plant and machinery insurance.
Asbestos and old flues
Pre-war and post-war homes contain flue pipes and gaskets containing asbestos. Every liability insurance excludes asbestos damage. If you suspect you have found asbestos, stop the work, notify the owner in writing and refer them to a certified removal contractor. Carrying on yourself is the worst scenario both legally and in insurance terms.
What does your premium depend on?
- Payroll and number of sweeps: the basis for the employers' section
- Nature of the assignments: private homes, VvEs, housing associations or catering premises
- Inspection and advisory work: the more you record and assess, the more relevant professional indemnity becomes
- Flue renovation: milling, lining and relining are heavier work than sweeping
- Working at height: ladders, scaffolding or your own aerial platform
- Sum insured chosen: matched to the value of the buildings you visit
Insurers weigh these details differently. That is where your saving is.
What is covered
| Situation | AVB | BAV |
|---|---|---|
| A sweep drops a stone from the roof onto the neighbours' car | Yes | No |
| While removing the stove an employee damages the poured floor in the living room | Yes | No |
| A housing association has sixty inspections redone because your reports did not meet the protocol | No | Yes |
| On your rejection an owner replaces a stove that turned out to be sound | No | Yes |
| The Arbeidsinspectie (the Dutch labour inspectorate) imposes a fine after an accident on a roof | No | No |
| Milling out a flue releases asbestos-bearing insulation and the building has to be decontaminated | No | No |
As soon as a claim rests only on your opinion or your report and nothing is damaged, it moves to the right-hand column.
Frequently asked questions
This is what people ask us most.
A chimney fire starts shortly after our sweep. Are we liable?
That depends on the cause. Liability requires a fault within the meaning of Article 6:162 of the Dutch Civil Code: incomplete sweeping, a part not put back or a defect you should have reported. The occupier's burning habits or wet wood can place the cause elsewhere. The insurer will have the cause of the fire investigated. Your report and photographs from before and after the work are then decisive.
There is soot in the living room after sweeping.
Soiling of the floor, furniture and curtains is third-party property damage and falls within the cover in principle, provided you worked carelessly. Cleaning the flue itself is not part of that, because that is your assignment and therefore performance of the contract. Work with dust sheets, extraction and covering material, and note on arrival what contents are in the immediate surroundings.
An occupier is taken ill from carbon monoxide.
That is personal injury and it falls within the cover if you made a mistake, for example by passing a leaking flue or failing to report a blockage. Report such an incident immediately; Article 7:941 of the Dutch Civil Code requires you to notify as soon as you know of it. Advise occupiers as a matter of routine to fit a carbon monoxide alarm and record that advice in the report.
An employee falls from a roof. What happens then?
An injured employee holds you liable as the employer. That claim belongs on the employers' liability section of your policy. The insurer will test your duty of care under Article 7:658 of the Dutch Civil Code: inspected climbing equipment, fall protection, instruction and supervision. You bear the burden of proving that this was in order. If those records are missing, liability is assumed in principle and the insurer will also look at the prevention conditions in your policy.
Every situation is different. For these situations we have a separate page.
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