Liability insurance for a guided tour company
A guided tour business moves groups of people through spaces and streets it does not control. Liability follows from that combination: you lead, someone else owns the location.
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In brief
Public and employers' liability insurance (AVB) pays for injury and damaged property suffered by third parties. On guided tours that damage almost always arises because something happens to a participant while you were in charge: a fall on a steep mill staircase, a participant who lags behind and steps into the road, a group standing too close to a machine or an animal enclosure. The legal basis is Article 6:162 of the Dutch Civil Code: you knew the danger and should have warned the group, held them back or positioned them differently. Your route description, the briefing beforehand and the group size are therefore not organisational details but evidence.
The second recurring theme is that you work at other people's sites. If your group damages a museum exhibit, a factory installation or a listed interior, that is third-party property damage and covered in principle. But as soon as an object or room is placed in your in your care, for example a hired hall, a borrowed boat or borrowed audio equipment, the care, custody and control exclusion comes into play and separate cover is needed. Also ask who is liable for the condition of the location itself. For defective structures, Article 6:174 of the Dutch Civil Code points to the possessor.
Three things fall outside as standard. Damage with a motor vehicle, such as a tour minibus or an electric city cart, belongs with the WAM; Article 2 of the Dutch Motor Insurance Liability Act (WAM) requires separate insurance. A cancelled tour for which you have to refund participants' fees is financial loss, not liability damage. And injury to yourself or to an owner is not someone else's loss. See also liability insurance for recreation and tourism.
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 make the difference between paying and not paying on guided tours.
Freelance guides in your name
If you use self-employed guides, you can be held liable under Article 6:171 of the Dutch Civil Code for the mistakes of those non-subordinates in the conduct of your business. Arrange who insures whom: have the guide produce his own AVB, or have 'third parties engaged' expressly included on your policy. If they in fact work under your supervision, the duty of care under Article 7:658(4) of the Dutch Civil Code.
Cycle tours and boat trips
A cycle tour through the city moves your risk into the traffic: a participant who falls or hits a passer-by. A sloop or canal trip also brings navigation rules and crew requirements. Both elements are assessed separately and are sometimes excluded. Report them when you apply; withholding them affects the payment through Articles 7:928 and 7:930 of the Dutch Civil Code.
Animals and farm visits
If you take groups to a stable, petting farm or riding school, the strict liability under Article 6:179 of the Dutch Civil Code applies to the keeper for damage caused by an animal. If you are the keeper of the animals yourself, that rests with you. If you are not, the question remains whether you kept the group at a sufficient distance and had instructed them beforehand.
Multi-day packages
If you combine a tour with accommodation and transport, you can count as a tour operator and the obligations under Article 7:507 of the Dutch Civil Code and the security provided under Article 7:512 of the Dutch Civil Codeapply. Those are contractual obligations that a liability policy does not take over. A guarantee scheme is needed for that.
What does your premium depend on?
- Number of participants per year: the exposure scales with the groups
- Group size per guide: small groups are easier to keep an eye on
- Type of tours: walking weighs differently from cycling, boating or industrial visits
- Own and hired-in guides: determines whether third parties have to be included
- Area of cover: tours abroad are assessed separately
- 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 | Basic | Extended |
|---|---|---|
| A participant falls from the steep mill staircase during your tour | Yes | Yes |
| Someone in your group knocks over a display case in the museum where you are guiding | Yes | Yes |
| The hall you hire for the introduction is damaged by your set-up | No | Provided that |
| A freelance guide you use leaves a participant behind, who then steps into the road | Provided that | Yes |
| Your electric city cart hits a cyclist during the tour | No | No |
| A participant is robbed during your city walk | No | No |
Extended here means a policy on which third parties engaged and tenant's liability are expressly included.
Frequently asked questions
This is what people ask us most.
A participant trips on a staircase in a historic building. Who is liable?
It may be the owner of the building under Article 6:174 of the Dutch Civil Code if the staircase was defective, and it may be you if you sent the group up there without a warning or lighting. In reality both parties are approached and the insurers settle it between them. Your briefing and the number of participants per guide carry a lot of weight in that.
We hire in guides. Are they covered under our policy?
Not automatically. Many policies cover only subordinates. If you want self-employed people you engage to come under your cover, that has to be stated on the policy schedule. If you do not do so, ask for their own liability insurance and record that in the contract, along with who reports a claim.
We drive our own minibus. Is that covered on the AVB?
No. Damage caused with or by a motor vehicle falls outside the cover on the AVB and belongs on a motor policy; Article 2 of the Dutch Motor Insurance Liability Act (WAM) makes that insurance compulsory. If an employee travelling with you is injured, employers' liability for road use also comes into play, which is arranged through WEGAS or WEGAM cover.
A tour is called off because of bad weather. Is that insured?
No, that is not liability but your own business risk. The AVB only comes into play once you cause damage to someone else. Refunding participants' fees and lost turnover are matters for your terms and possibly for events or cancellation cover, depending on the type of package you offer.
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