Water damage · combustion · certification
Liability insurance for a self-employed installation engineer
With installation work in an occupied house, the risk lies under the floor and behind the wall: a coupling that comes loose or a waste pipe that is wrong is only noticed by the customer once the damage is done.
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- 9.5 customer rating for a new policy
- AFM licence 12016589
- Personal 072 - 509 24 56, weekdays 9–17
Deze pagina in het Nederlands: Aansprakelijkheidsverzekering voor een installateur als zzp'er.
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.
Enter your details; you will receive a proposal within one working day.
- 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
Water is your biggest source of loss. A compression fitting that is not tight, a press fitting without a ring, a pipe in a floor caught while screwing: it leaks through unnoticed and damages floors, ceilings, kitchens and contents. That is damage to someone else's property and the public and employers' liability insuranceexists for it. Making the joint again is not: that is your own work.
The heaviest risk is the combustion appliance. A flue connected wrongly, a penetration that is not airtight or a boiler commissioned incorrectly leads to carbon monoxide and therefore to injury. Work on gas combustion appliances is subject to a statutory certification requirement. If you work without the required certification, you are acting contrary to a regulation and the insurer can refuse cover. Legionella after work on a drinking water system falls into this category too: the result is injury, and liability follows from Article 6:162 of the Dutch Civil Code.
This policy does not cover three things. Your your own injury after a fall from a ladder or a burn, for which there is disability insurance. Your tools, from press tool to inspection camera set, for which tool insurance for the self-employed is intended. And the appliance you are installing as long as you are working on it: that is property in your care.
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 most often to a rejection for a self-employed installation engineer.
Leaks: consequential damage yes, repair no
The dividing line runs exactly at your work. A new coupling, pressing it again and the hours for that you pay yourself. Soaked plasterboard, warped floorboards, a damaged kitchen unit and the cost of drying out are damage to the customer's property and fit within cover.
Certification and regulations
Work on gas combustion appliances is subject to a statutory certification requirement, and insurers include clauses about it. Working without the required papers or contrary to the installation instructions can, as wilful recklessness are regarded as, which under Article 7:952 of the Dutch Civil Code is excluded.
What you advise
If you calculate a heat pump capacity or advise on the choice of system and it turns out not to perform, nothing is broken but money is lost. Such pure financial loss belongs on a professional indemnity insurance, not on the AVB.
Reporting your activities
Many installation engineers add electrical work, roof penetrations or refrigeration. Each of those disciplines is a separate risk to an insurer. If it is not in the business activity on your policy, it is not covered; failing to report changes also engages Article 7:928 of the Dutch Civil Code.
What does your premium depend on?
- Annual turnover: the basis on which a policy for the self-employed is calculated
- Type of installations: gas and refrigerants weigh more heavily than sanitary work
- Type of clients: private maintenance differs from new-build projects
- Certifications: the required professional competence is often a condition of acceptance
- Sum insured: matched to what clients require by contract
- Excess per claim: a deliberate choice where there are many small water damage claims
Insurers weigh these details differently. That is where your saving is.
What is covered
| Situation | AVB | BAV |
|---|---|---|
| You drill through an underfloor heating pipe and the screed has to be opened up | Yes | No |
| Residents fall ill from carbon monoxide out of a flue you connected | Yes | No |
| A resident contracts legionella after your work on the drinking water system | Yes | No |
| The heat pump you are installing falls out of the hoist and can no longer be used | No | No |
| Your capacity calculation is wrong, the radiators do not heat up and the system has to be redone | No | Yes |
| Your press tool is stolen from the van overnight | No | No |
The appliance you are working on and your own equipment fall outside both policies. There are separate covers for them.
Frequently asked questions
This is what people ask us most.
Water damage has occurred because of my coupling. What is paid?
The damage to the building and to the customer's belongings can fall within cover: floors, ceilings, units, contents and the cost of drying out and repair. Making the coupling again is not, because that is your contractual performance. Report the loss immediately and have the situation assessed if possible before anything is stripped out or dried.
May I work on a central heating boiler without certification?
No. Work on gas combustion appliances is subject to a statutory certification requirement for the business and demonstrable professional competence for the engineer. Apart from enforcement, this has an insurance consequence: if you work without it, you are acting contrary to a regulation and the insurer can rely on the exclusions if there is a carbon monoxide incident.
I work as a subcontractor. Does the contractor's policy cover me?
No. That insurance covers that company's liability, and if there is a loss it will recover it from you under your contract. Most contractors and housing associations therefore require you to have liability insurance of your own with a minimum sum insured per claim before you can start work.
A customer only claims two years later. Am I still insured?
That depends on the cover basis. If your policy works on a claims-made basis, the date of the letter of claim is decisive and the insurance must be in force at that moment. If you stop trading, a run-off period is needed so that claims about old work can be reported. Discuss that when you switch, otherwise a gap opens up.
Read more
Within Bedrijfsaansprakelijkheidsverzekering
- Bedrijfsaansprakelijkheidsverzekeringthe main page
- Bedrijfsaansprakelijkheidsverzekering elektricien zzp
- Bedrijfsaansprakelijkheidsverzekering cv monteur zzp
- Bedrijfsaansprakelijkheidsverzekering flensmonteur pijpfitter zzp
- Bedrijfsaansprakelijkheidsverzekering flensmonteur zzp
- Bedrijfsaansprakelijkheidsverzekering cv bedrijf
- Bedrijfsaansprakelijkheidsverzekering loodgieter zzp
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