The deceased · the family · care, custody and control
Liability insurance for a self-employed funeral director
In the funeral sector a mistake can rarely be put right. That makes the question of which losses liability insurance recognises uncomfortable but necessary.
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Deze pagina in het Nederlands: Aansprakelijkheidsverzekering voor een zelfstandige uitvaartondernemer.
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
The AVB covers injury and property damage to others. As a self-employed funeral director you almost always work in someone else's premises: a chapel, a church, a crematorium, the family's home. That is where you cause the most common covered losses: a candlestick knocked over, a damaged parquet floor while manoeuvring the bier, injury when a coffin stand slips. A visitor falling over your equipment at the viewing is also a classic AVB claim under Article 6:162 of the Dutch Civil Code.
What the AVB does not cover goes to the heart of this profession. A death notice placed incorrectly, an urn mixed up, a ceremony at the wrong time or a wish that was not passed on: those are failings in the service where nobody is injured and nothing is broken. The loss is then pure financial loss or non-material loss, and that belongs on professional indemnity insurance. Without that cover you bear the claim and the defence costs yourself.
Also watch property placed in your in your care. Jewellery, a wedding ring, a watch, a photo album, clothing the family provides: if any of it goes missing or is damaged, that is excluded on the AVB. The same applies to the hearse — damage with or by a motor vehicle runs through the vehicle policy — and to damage caused intentionally, which under Article 7:952 of the Dutch Civil Code is never insured.
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 lead to a claim in this trade more often than you would expect.
A mistake in the arrangements is not an AVB loss
An urn mixed up, a deadline for repatriation missed or a cremation that in the family's view went against their wishes: there is no injury and no damaged property. This is pure financial loss, and sometimes a claim for harm to the person. The AVB excludes this. Only professional indemnity cover picks it up.
The deceased's personal belongings
Everything the family hands over is in your keeping. The care, custody and control exclusion makes damage to or loss of jewellery, glasses and clothing your own risk. Work with a written handover list and have the family sign it. That prevents argument about what was handed over and when.
Working in other people's buildings
Chapels, churches and homes are someone else's property. Scratches on an organ, torn floor covering or water damage from flower arrangements are covered property damage, provided the building does not count as hired premises in your care. If you hire a venue yourself, ask expressly for the tenant's liability clause.
Carrying, lifting and hired-in bearers
Carrying a coffin is physically heavy work. If you hire bearers or a colleague, your duty of care extends to them as well under Article 7:658(4) of the Dutch Civil Code. Arrange instruction on lifting technique and check that the wheeled equipment is sound; otherwise an injury claim from a hired-in bearer ends up with you.
What does your premium depend on?
- Annual turnover: the usual basis for a sole trader
- Number of funerals arranged: more funerals means more exposure
- Hiring in bearers and drivers: brings employers' liability with it
- Own viewing or cold storage room: managing a room changes the risk
- Sum insured and excess: per claim and per insurance year
- Repatriation and transport across the border: calls for a wider territorial scope
Insurers weigh these details differently. That is where your saving is.
Which policy pays
| Situation | AVB | BAV |
|---|---|---|
| A guest trips over the cable of your sound system in the chapel | Yes | No |
| A microphone stand falls against the glass door of the crematorium | Yes | No |
| The wedding ring the family gave you cannot be found after the service | No | No |
| You register the death too late and the family bears the extra costs | No | Yes |
| A hired-in bearer misses his footing on a cemetery path and tears an ankle ligament | Provided that | No |
| The family claims compensation because the funeral card gave the wrong date | No | Provided that |
Everything that goes wrong in arranging a funeral is financial loss and therefore does not run through the AVB.
Frequently asked questions
This is what people ask us most.
The wrong ashes were scattered. Does my AVB cover that?
No. There is no injury and no damaged property in the sense the AVB uses, so the claim falls outside the cover. In such cases the family claims compensation for costs and sometimes for non-material loss for harm to the person. For that type of claim you need professional indemnity insurance, which is written expressly for failings in the service.
A visitor trips over a cable during the service. Is that covered?
If you laid the cable and the situation was unsafe, that is personal injury for which you can be liable under Article 6:162 of the Dutch Civil Code. That is a typical AVB claim. Report the incident at once, even if the visitor says at first that it is nothing; Article 7:941 DCC requires you to notify as soon as you are aware of the loss.
What if an item of the deceased's jewellery goes missing?
That falls under the care, custody and control exclusion, because the item was in your keeping. This is one of the most common complaints in the sector and at the same time one of the rarely covered ones. Work, therefore, with a signed record of receipt and return. Some insurers offer limited care, custody and control cover; have that quoted separately.
Am I covered when I drive the hearse?
Not under the AVB. Damage with or by a motor vehicle is excluded and falls under the compulsory insurance in Article 2 of the Dutch Motor Insurance Liability Act (WAM) on the vehicle itself. That also applies to the following cars. If you drive a hired hearse, check who carries the insurance obligation and whether there is an excess on the own-damage cover.
Read more
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