Investigation reports · proportionality · reputational damage
Liability insurance for a self-employed fraud investigator
A fraud investigator rarely damages anything. He damages a reputation, a job or a benefit entitlement, and that is exactly the type of loss an AVB does not pay for.
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Deze pagina in het Nederlands: Aansprakelijkheidsverzekering voor een zelfstandige fraudeonderzoeker.
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.
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- 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
Public and employers' liability insurance (AVB) centres on one type of loss: injury and damaged property suffered by others. In fraud investigation that is a small part of the risk: a laptop you knock off a table at a client's office, a door or frame damaged while installing equipment, injury because you touch someone during a confrontation. Real, but not why you want to be insured.
Your core risk is the report. If someone is dismissed on the strength of your findings, a benefit is stopped or a claim is rejected, and the conclusion turns out to be incorrect or insufficiently supported, the person concerned claims loss of income and non-material loss. Such loss consists of money and not of injury or damaged property; the AVB excludes it and professional indemnity insurance is intended for it. The same applies to a report that reaches the wrong recipient.
Also, the method is itself a source of liability. An investigation into an individual must meet the requirements of proportionality and subsidiarity: no heavier means than necessary, and only after lighter means have been used. Surveillance, covert recordings or trawling social media without a basis are an invasion of privacy and therefore unlawful within the meaning of Article 6:162 of the Dutch Civil Code; those concerned can also rely on Article 82 of the GDPR. Your work is moreover subject to the licensing requirement of the Wet particuliere beveiligingsorganisaties en recherchebureaus (the Dutch Private Security Organisations and Detective Agencies Act). See also investigation and fraud enquiries.
This page deals with one situation. The full overview is on Compare public and employers' liability insurance (AVB).
What to look out for
Four points that decide the outcome in self-employed fraud investigation.
Support matters more than the conclusion
Most claims are not about what you saw, but about the step from observation to conclusion. Describe facts and sources separately from your interpretation, state what you were not able to establish, and let the client draw the employment law or insurance law conclusion. That reduces your exposure more than any clause.
Basis and file building
Record before you start what the suspicion was, which lighter means were tried and why a heavier means was necessary. If that weighing up is missing, the invasion of privacy is unlawful in itself, whether or not the fraud is proved. Do not keep the file longer than necessary and restrict access to it.
Your business activity and the licence
The policy must state what you do: file review, interviews, surveillance or digital forensic work. If you extend into surveillance in the field while your policy names only desk-based investigation, that is not insured. Report changes; Articles 7:928 and 7:930 of the Dutch Civil Code tie payment to the accuracy of what you declared.
Fines, intent and deliberate infringement
Administrative fines and penalty payments are not insurable anywhere. Loss you cause intentionally, by knowingly entering unlawfully or extracting data by deception for instance, falls outside all cover under Article 7:952 of the Dutch Civil Code. Data breaches in your own files belong on cyber insurance.
What does your premium depend on?
- Annual turnover: the usual basis for self-employed investigators
- Type of research: surveillance weighs more heavily than file and desk research
- Type of clients: insurers and public bodies impose stricter requirements
- Use of technical aids: cameras and trackers increase the privacy risk
- Digital storage of files: this determines the need for cyber cover
- Sum insured and excess: per claim and per insurance year
Insurers weigh these details differently. That is where your saving is.
What is covered
| Situation | AVB | BAV |
|---|---|---|
| You push someone away during a confrontation interview and that person falls | Yes | No |
| Your tripod with camera falls over and damages the shop window you were filming behind | Yes | No |
| An employee is dismissed on the strength of your report and the conclusion turns out to be insufficiently supported | No | Yes |
| Your draft report reaches the wrong recipient and the person concerned suffers reputational damage | No | Yes |
| A person under investigation claims damages for distress because you observed him for weeks without a basis | No | Provided that |
| During surveillance you drive into a gate on the premises of the person under investigation | No | No |
What follows from your report is money and not injury or a broken item. That is exactly where the AVB stops.
Frequently asked questions
This is what people ask us most.
Someone is dismissed on the basis of my report and sues me. Is that covered?
Not under public and employers' liability insurance. The person concerned is claiming loss of income and damage to reputation, and there is no injury or damaged property. That is pure financial loss and professional indemnity insurance is needed for it. Do report the claim straight away; Article 7:941 of the Dutch Civil Code requires notification as soon as you know of the claim.
May I put someone under surveillance if the client asks me to?
Only if there is a concrete suspicion and lighter means are not sufficient. A client's instruction does not make an invasion of privacy lawful. If it turns out afterwards that the weighing up was missing, your conduct is unlawful under Article 6:162 of the Dutch Civil Code and the person concerned can also claim damages under Article 82 of the GDPR.
What if my client indemnifies me?
An indemnity works between you and the client, but not against the person investigated: he can hold you liable directly. Besides, an indemnity is only worth something as long as the client is solvent. Insurers look at your own conduct, not at the arrangement you made with your client.
I damage equipment at a client's office. Is that insured?
If you damage property that was not in your care, that is ordinary property damage and covered in principle. If you were working on or with that equipment, reading out a server or installing a camera for instance, you had the item in your care and the care, custody and control exclusion applies. Separate care, custody and control cover is needed for that work.
Read more
Within Bedrijfsaansprakelijkheidsverzekering
- Bedrijfsaansprakelijkheidsverzekeringthe main page
- Bedrijfsaansprakelijkheidsverzekering privedetective zzp
- Bedrijfsaansprakelijkheidsverzekering recherchebureau
- Bedrijfsaansprakelijkheidsverzekering fraude onderzoeksbureau
- Bedrijfsaansprakelijkheidsverzekering incassobedrijf
- Bedrijfsaansprakelijkheidsverzekering beveiliger zzp
- Bedrijfsaansprakelijkheidsverzekering beveiligingsbedrijf
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