Line possessions · delay · overhead line
Liability insurance for a railway construction company
In rail construction the most expensive item is rarely the rail. It is the train that does not run, and on most liability policies that is not damage but financial loss.
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Deze pagina in het Nederlands: Aansprakelijkheidsverzekering voor een spoorbouwbedrijf.
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.
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- An adviser checks whether the cover suits your activities
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A premium indication, not personal advice. Prefer to talk it through? Call 072 - 509 24 56.
In brief
The public and employers' liability insurance pays for injury and damaged property. In rail construction that is only part of the story, because the largest bill after an incident consists of cancelled train services, diversions and possession overrun charges. That is pure financial loss and it is excluded on the AVB. Only where those costs are the direct result of property damage you caused — a damaged set of points, for example — does part of it qualify, and even then often subject to a limit.
Contractually the position is different. Rail infrastructure managers and main contractors set out penalties and charges per minute of delay in the contract. Liability arising solely from a penalty clause or guarantee is not insured; the policy follows liability in law under Article 6:162 of the Dutch Civil Code. Allow for that in your pricing rather than in your policy, and have unusual indemnities assessed in advance.
Third comes your staff. Work on and near an operational railway takes place at night, in short windows and under time pressure. Article 7:658 of the Dutch Civil Code requires a demonstrably safe way of working: safety measures in line with the standards framework, a designated safety officer, lighting and escape routes. The same applies to hired-in workers through subsection 4 of that article, even where the contract sits with an agency.
This page deals with one situation. The full overview is on Compare public and employers' liability insurance (AVB).
What makes rail work different
Four subjects that determine in rail construction who ultimately bears a loss.
Delay is not property damage
A possession that overruns or a section of line that stays closed longer costs money without anything being damaged. Insurers treat that as pure financial loss and exclude it. Where the delay does run through damaged rolling stock or damaged infrastructure, the consequential loss follows the property damage — but the burden of proof and the limit then become decisive.
Overhead line, cables and signalling
A support structure struck, a cable trough pulled through or damaged train detection is property damage to the infrastructure manager's assets. If you are working on that component at the time, the care, custody and control exclusion comes into play and the policy pays only what falls outside it. Have it recorded which components belong to your working area and which you merely pass.
Road-rail vehicles and rail-bound equipment
A vehicle driving to the assembly point on the road is a motor vehicle and falls under the compulsory insurance in Article 2 of the Dutch Motor Insurance Liability Act (WAM). The same vehicle on the track is treated as plant. Damage to the machine itself belongs on plant and machinery insurance; the AVB covers only what you cause to others with the machine, and then only to the extent that no motor vehicle exclusion applies.
Gangs on the track at night
The risk of being struck, tripping in the ballast and working under artificial light make the employers' liability section the heaviest item. Record briefings, safety talks and the designation of the safety officer. If staff travel to the worksite themselves, road use is a separate risk that you place with WEGAS or WEGAM.
What does your premium depend on?
- Payroll and number of track workers: night work and work near the track weigh more heavily
- Nature of the work: track renewal, overhead line, signalling or structures
- Share of work within a possession: work on an operational railway is assessed more strictly
- Use of rail-bound plant: your own machines call for matching equipment cover
- Subcontracting and hired-in labour: the extent of subcontracted work and the number of hired-in workers
- Sum insured and excess: clients often set a floor for this themselves
Insurers weigh these details differently. That is where your saving is.
What is covered
| Situation | AVB | BAV |
|---|---|---|
| Your crane knocks a signal post out of alignment and the infrastructure manager replaces it | Yes | No |
| A rail slides off the wagon and damages a parked works vehicle | Yes | No |
| While excavating alongside the track your gang strikes a telecom operator's fibre-optic cable | Yes | No |
| A neighbouring resident claims cracks in his house from the vibration of your tamping machine | Provided that | No |
| An incorrectly calculated stress-free temperature in the rail section calls for extra welding afterwards | No | Yes |
| A mistake in your construction design makes the possession last two nights longer | No | Yes |
Design, calculation and site supervision work in house is the reason these two policies rarely stand apart in rail construction.
Frequently asked questions
This is what people ask us most.
Are the penalties for an overrunning possession insured?
No. They follow from your contract with the client and not from liability in law for damage. The AVB covers injury and property damage. An agreed amount per minute of delay is neither. Contractual penalties, deductions and guarantee obligations are named as exclusions on virtually every policy. Build them into your risk margin when tendering.
Our machine hits the overhead line. What does the policy pay?
The physical damage to the overhead line is property damage to a third party's assets and covered in principle, provided no motor vehicle or care, custody and control exclusion applies. The costs the operators incur because no trains run are treated differently from policy to policy: some insurers pay that consequential loss up to a sub-limit, others exclude it. Have that expressly recorded before you take out the policy.
A hired-in engineer is injured during night work. Who is liable?
Probably you. Article 7:658(4) of the Dutch Civil Code places the duty of care with the party in whose business the work is carried out, whoever holds the contract. The insurer will test whether you can evidence instruction, supervision and safety measures. Make sure the employers' liability section expressly names hired-in staff as well, because that is not a given on every policy.
We work only with certified subcontractors. Are we indemnified then?
Certification says something about competence, not about liability. As main contractor you remain responsible to the client for the whole and can be held liable for a subcontractor's mistake. Set out in your purchasing conditions that he maintains his own liability insurance, ask for the policy schedule every year and report the extent of subcontracted work to your own insurer.
Read more
Within Bedrijfsaansprakelijkheidsverzekering
- Bedrijfsaansprakelijkheidsverzekeringthe main page
- Public and employers' liability for work on railways and tracks
- Avb spoorwegbeveiliger
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- Bedrijfsaansprakelijkheidsverzekering hoveniersbedrijf
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