Liability insurance for a self-employed graphic designer
As a self-employed designer you work alternately at home and on the client's premises. Those two places fall under different rules, and the personal policy covers neither.
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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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A premium indication, not personal advice. Prefer to talk it through? Call 072 - 509 24 56.
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In brief
For a self-employed graphic designer the AVB is a narrow but necessary policy. There are no staff, so the employers' liability section falls away. What remains is damage to other people's property and injury to other people: a mug knocked over onto the design laptop on your client's desk, a monitor you drop during a move, a visitor tripping over a cable in your home office. The basis remains Article 6:162 of the Dutch Civil Code.
The loss your work itself produces falls outside it. A file supplied wrongly, a campaign that has to be done again, a design that comes too close to an existing trade mark: that is pure financial loss and belongs on a professional indemnity insurance for self-employed professionals. Many clients require both policies side by side and say so in their purchasing conditions; check that the business activity they ask for matches what is on your policy schedule.
Also watch where you work. If you work from a home office, your personal liability insurance does not cover the business side: it excludes damage arising in the course of a profession or business. If you work regularly at a client's office, report that. More about the general structure is on the hub page on the AVB and on the page about liability as a self-employed professional (zzp'er).
This page deals with one situation. The full overview is on Compare public and employers' liability insurance (AVB).
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Business liability insurance (AVB)
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Get coveredWhy arrange it through Finass Verzekert?
We look at the terms as well as the premium, and stay your point of contact when there is a claim.
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We are not tied to one insurer and compare on the basis of an objective analysis of several companies.
One fixed adviser
You call or email someone who knows your file. No menu options, no changing call centres.
Switching without hassle
We cancel your old policy and align the start date, so you are never a day without cover.
Help with claims
We report the claim and monitor how it is handled. In urgent cases you can reach us on the emergency line.
What to look out for
Four points that work differently for a sole trader in design than for an agency.
The client's laptop
If you are lent equipment so that you can work on the client's network, you have it in your in your care. Damage to it falls under the care, custody and control exclusion and therefore outside the AVB. Set out in the loan agreement who bears the risk, or ask for a care, custody and control clause. The same applies to graphics tablets and calibration equipment you borrow.
Purchasing conditions that go beyond the law
Large clients have you sign up to unlimited liability, indemnities and penalty clauses. An AVB covers only statutory liability; what you accept over and above that by contract is excluded. Negotiate a limitation to direct loss, or put your own terms of supply first and confirm that in writing before the work starts.
Bogus self-employment and the circle of insured persons
If you work for a long period under the direction of a single client, the actual relationship can start to look like employment. That means something for liability: under Article 7:658(4) of the Dutch Civil Code a client can bear a duty of care towards those who work for him. That changes who you hold liable for your own injury, but it still gives you no income cover.
Your own absence is not insured
This policy covers damage to others, not your own loss of turnover through illness or an RSI complaint. For loss of income there is disability insurance. Damage to your own equipment is arranged with business contents or electronics cover. That too is separate from the liability policy.
What does your premium depend on?
- Annual turnover: the standard measure where there are no staff
- Described activities: design only, or print management and web building as well
- Working on site: secondment at clients changes the risk
- Sum insured and excess: per claim and per insurance year
- Care, custody and control cover: for clients' equipment
- Area of cover: the Netherlands, Europe or worldwide
Insurers weigh these details differently. That is where your saving is.
What is covered
| Situation | AVB | BAV |
|---|---|---|
| You knock over a mug onto your client's monitor during a day at their office | Yes | No |
| A client trips over a cable in your home office | Yes | No |
| You damage a client's meeting table while trimming proofs | Yes | No |
| A logo you designed resembles an existing trade mark too closely and the corporate identity has to go | No | Yes |
| The printer charges a misprint to you because your file had no bleed | No | Yes |
| The client withholds your invoice because he is dissatisfied with the design | No | No |
A payment dispute is not a loss; business legal expenses insurance is the right instrument for that.
Frequently asked questions
This is what people ask us most.
My client requires both an AVB and professional indemnity insurance. Why both?
Because they cover two different types of loss. The AVB is about injury and damaged property, professional indemnity insurance about financial loss caused by an error in your work. A design error leading to a reprint falls under the second, a monitor knocked over under the first. That is why clients often ask for both policy schedules before signing an agreement.
I work from home. Is my personal policy not enough?
No. Personal liability insurance excludes damage arising in the course of a profession or business. If you receive clients at home or work on paid assignments, that is carrying on a business. Business contents also fall outside your home contents insurance once they count as business assets. Both need a business solution.
What if I unintentionally use a protected trade mark or font?
A claim for infringement of intellectual property is a claim in money and does not fall under the AVB. Some professional indemnity policies have a separate section for this, often with a lower limit and excluding deliberate infringement. Keep your licence records with the project file, because the burden of proving that you were entitled lies with you.
I have changed my field of work. Do I have to report that?
Yes. If you start building websites, buying print or dressing events alongside design, those are different activities with a different risk. Report that change in writing. Unreported circumstances can, under Articles 7:928 and 7:930 of the Dutch Civil Code, lead to a reduced payment or to refusal if the insurer would not have insured you had it known of them.
Every situation is different. For these situations we have a separate page.
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