Liability insurance for a glazing company
A glazing company works with lifting equipment, with staff who lift heavy loads and with urgent jobs outside office hours. Each of those three touches a different policy provision.
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In brief
As soon as you work with a glass crane, lorry-mounted forklift or access platform, cover splits. Damage caused with or by a motor vehicle falls under the compulsory insurance requirement of Article 2 of the Dutch Motor Insurance Liability Act (WAM) and is in fact excluded by the liability policy. The public and employers' liability insurance covers the work risk alongside that, but whether a pane falling from a crane comes under one or the other depends on how the two policies interact. Have that interaction checked expressly; non-road-going plant also calls for plant and machinery insurance.
The second theme is staff. Insulating glass is heavy, the carrying posture is awkward and cuts are never far away. Article 7:658 of the Dutch Civil Code requires you to show that you provided lifting aids, that there was instruction on the use of suction cups and that compliance was supervised. Subsection 4 extends that duty to agency workers and hired-in glaziers. Without that file you are liable in principle for a back injury or cut injury claim.
The third theme is the stock and transport. Panes in trolleys at the yard, glass in the van and sheets waiting at the customer's premises are your own property. The liability policy pays nothing for them. Business contents, stock and goods in transit insuranceexist for that. And glass once fitted and handed over is the owner's property and a matter for his glass insurance.
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 points that lead to argument at a glazing company more often than the sum insured.
Motor vehicle or machine
With damage involving a crane lorry the first question is whether the vehicle was functioning as a motor vehicle in traffic or as a tool on the job. That distinction determines whether the WAM insurer or the AVB insurer pays. Always report which vehicles with lifting equipment you use, so that the two policies fit together.
What happens on the facade
While hoisting a curtain wall into place you catch the brickwork, the frames or the cladding being worked on. That part can fall under the care, custody and control exclusion. Damage to the rest of the building, to parked cars or to the client's contents usually falls outside it and is covered.
Emergency call-outs outside office hours
On an emergency boarding-up after a break-in or a storm, your fitter works alone, in the dark, often without proper barriers. That increases both the injury risk and the chance of culpable conduct. Record that barriers were put up and what temporary provision was made; if further damage follows, that is your only evidence.
Subcontracting and activities declared
If you contract out frame, sealant or installation work, check whether that party is insured itself and whether your policy covers work by third parties. If you expand into facade maintenance or sun blinds for instance, report it: work outside the business activity described is not covered and engages the duty of disclosure under Article 7:928 of the Dutch Civil Code.
What does your premium depend on?
- Turnover and payroll: these determine the scale of the work and the staff risk
- Use of lifting equipment: glass cranes and lorry-mounted forklifts call for alignment with the WAM policy
- Balance between private and project work: curtain wall work at height weighs more heavily than domestic glazing
- Emergency call-outs and work outside office hours: working alone in the evening increases the risk
- Agency workers and hired-in staff: these count towards your duty of care as an employer
- 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 |
|---|---|---|
| A glazier tears a tendon lifting an insulating pane without a lifting aid | Yes | No |
| A customer is injured when a pane falls over in your showroom | Yes | No |
| A fitter drops a pane onto a resident's car | Yes | No |
| You calculated the wrong type of glass for a balustrade and the whole barrier has to come out | No | Yes |
| Panes standing in trolleys in your own yard break during a storm | No | No |
| Six months after handover a fitted pane cracks spontaneously | No | No |
After handover the glass is the owner's property; record when the work was handed over, therefore.
Frequently asked questions
This is what people ask us most.
Our crane drops a pane onto a parked car. Which policy pays?
Probably the motor policy of the crane lorry. Damage caused with or by a motor vehicle falls under the compulsory insurance requirement of Article 2 of the Dutch Motor Insurance Liability Act (WAM) and is usually excluded on the liability policy. That is precisely why it matters that both policies are known to the same adviser, so that no gap opens up between them.
An employee reports back problems after years of lifting glass. Are we liable?
You may be. Under Article 7:658 of the Dutch Civil Code it is for you to show that you complied with your duty of care: lifting aids available, instruction, rotation and supervision. A claim for long-term overloading falls under employers' liability, provided that section is included. With older claims there is also the question of which policy was in force at the time.
We fitted a curtain wall that has been leaking after six months. What is covered?
Not resetting, resealing and finishing your own work: that is your contractual performance. What the moisture has done to the building or to the client's contents can be covered. Report the claim as soon as you know of it, because Article 7:941 DCC requires this.
Are our own panes in storage included?
No. Liability insurance pays only for third parties' losses. Breakage in the trolleys on your premises, theft from the store or damage during transport is covered with stock, business contents or goods in transit insurance. With transit cover, note the conditions on securing the load.
Every situation is different. For these situations we have a separate page.
- Compare public and employers' liability insurance (AVB)The main page
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