Occupied buildings · key management · risk of falls
Liability insurance for a painting and decorating firm
A painting and decorating firm works with teams in houses and blocks where people live. That makes losses rarely large per case, but numerous, and it brings risks a sole trader does not have.
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Deze pagina in het Nederlands: Aansprakelijkheidsverzekering voor een schildersbedrijf.
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A premium indication, not personal advice. Prefer to talk it through? Call 072 - 509 24 56.
In brief
With staff the centre of gravity shifts to employers' liability. Falling from a ladder, stepladder or scaffold is the most common serious loss in this trade, and Article 7:658 of the Dutch Civil Code places the burden of proof on you: you must show that the workplace was safe, that instructions had been given and that there was supervision of the use of the right equipment. There is also exposure to solvents, isocyanates and, in renovation work, to lead-bearing dust — complaints that are only reported years later. For hired-in painters and self-employed professionals working under your supervision, subsection 4 of that article applies in full.
The second theme is working in occupied buildings that are in use. Your teams hold keys, walk through homes and work in the stairwells of blocks where residents pass by. Contents, floors and appliances are third-party property and fall within the public and employers' liability insurance. Key management is a risk of its own: if a set of keys goes missing and a master key system has to be replaced, that is a cost and not damaged property, and so pure financial loss which falls outside the cover unless expressly included.
What else stays outside as standard: the redoing of rejected paintwork and claims under a guarantee or maintenance period given — that concerns your own performance; the substrate you have in hand, because of the care, custody and control exclusion; and damage caused with an aerial platform or van in traffic, which under Article 2 of the Dutch Motor Insurance Liability Act (WAM) applies and not the liability policy. For the equipment itself there is plant and machinery insurance.
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 determine the size of a claim at painting firms with staff.
Scaffold, ladder and aerial platform
Who erects and inspects the scaffold determines who is liable if it collapses. If you hire a scaffold including erection, record who signed the handover and who was allowed to make changes in the meantime. If your own team works from ladders where a scaffold should be standing, that directly affects your position under Article 7:658 of the Dutch Civil Code.
Subcontractors and self-employed painters
In busy periods work is passed on. Towards your client you remain liable for the whole. Require every subcontractor, therefore, to hold his own liability insurance with a sum insured matching yours, and set out the right of recovery in the contract. Without that agreement, a hirer's loss is in practice your loss.
Work for VvEs and housing associations
Large-scale maintenance brings requirements with it: a minimum sum insured, a liability regime in the specification and sometimes an obligation to be included on a Construction all risks (CAR) insurance taken out by the client. Read for each project whether your own policy responds primarily or in excess, and whether recovery against you remains possible.
Fire risk and storage
Cloths and rags with linseed oil can combust spontaneously, and solvents are flammable. Insurers include requirements about storage in your van and in your unit. A fire that demonstrably arose from incorrect storage can lead to a reduced or refused payment and affects your own fire insurance as well as your liability.
What does your premium depend on?
- Payroll and number of painters — the main yardstick for employers' liability
- Turnover and type of work — private maintenance weighs differently from large-scale renovation
- Working height — high-rise, suspended cradles and facade work increase the risk of falls
- Spraying and hot work — accepted with separate conditions
- Hired-in labour and subcontracting — the scale and the requirements you set for those parties
- Claims history — the frequency of small losses weighs heavily here
Insurers weigh these details differently. That is why comparing pays off.
What is covered
| Situation | Your own AVB | The client's CAR policy |
|---|---|---|
| A team member drops a bucket from the third floor onto a parked car | Yes | No |
| A painter from your team breaks his ankle falling from the platform steps | Yes | No |
| Vandals daub the freshly painted facade before handover | No | Yes |
| The fresh coat of paint is damaged when the scaffolder scrapes past it during dismantling | No | Yes |
| The housing association withholds a deduction because three blocks were handed over late | No | No |
| Your own mobile tower scaffold blows over and can no longer be used | No | No |
Injury and damage alongside the work belong on the left; damage to the work itself follows the project policy, if there is one.
Frequently asked questions
The questions we are asked most often about this.
An employee falls from a ladder. What does that mean for us?
Injury to your own staff falls under the employers' liability section, provided it is included. The insurer will test whether you met your duty of care under Article 7:658 of the Dutch Civil Code: was the right equipment available, was there instruction and supervision, and was the risk inventory up to date? Missing prevention can lead to argument about the size of the payment.
We lose a set of keys for a block. Is the replacement covered?
Usually not without an additional arrangement. Replacing cylinders and reissuing keys are costs without anything being damaged, and that is pure financial loss. Some insurers offer a limited section for this. Ask about it if you routinely hold keys, because for a block such an item runs up quickly.
Our subcontractor causes water damage. Can we be held liable?
Yes. Towards the client you are responsible for the work you took on, including the part you subcontracted. Your policy can cover that liability, after which the insurer can seek recovery from the subcontractor. That does require you to have recorded something in the contract and that party to be insured itself.
Do we also need legal expenses insurance?
A liability policy conducts the defence when you are held liable, but does not help when you want to claim something yourself, for example over non-payment or a dispute about extra work. Business legal expenses insurance (rechtsbijstandverzekering) exists for that. After an accident at work, enforcement proceedings may also follow; check whether assistance with that is arranged.
Read more
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