The works
- Fire, storm and water
- Theft of materials
- Inherent defect and design fault
- Vandalism on the building site
Erection · existing installation · commissioning
Construction all risks (CAR) insurance for installation companies
With installation work things rarely go wrong during assembly, but at the first moment water, gas or voltage is put on the installation.
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Deze pagina in het Nederlands: CAR-verzekering voor installateurs.
Calculate your premium or request a quote
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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 your own premium with the calculator.
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
For installation work there is, alongside the ordinary construction policy, the erection all risks insurance. It is tailored to erecting, connecting and testing rather than to bricklaying and pouring concrete, and therefore has a separate phase: the testing and commissioning. That is exactly the moment when most installation damage arises, and it is not automatically insured.
The second characteristic is that you almost always connect to something that is already there. The existing pipework, the existing distribution board, the existing installation: those belong to the client. Damage to them does not fall under the cover on your own works, and on a liability policy it founders on the care, custody and control exclusion. The existing property needed.
And then there is what you do not make yourself. Boilers, heat pumps, inverters and control equipment come from a manufacturer. If such a product turns out to be defective, liability for it lies with the producer under Article 6:185 of the Dutch Civil Code, and not with you. Your labour hours to take the unit out and put it back in are then a contractual matter with the supplier.
What does CAR insurance for installation companies cover?
The structure of the cover in three parts, with an overview per situation below.
Liability
Damage to property and persons of third parties on and around the works.
- Adjoining premises
- Injury to bystanders
- Cables and pipes
Extensions
What comes into play alongside the works themselves.
- Client's existing property
- Ancillary plant and site huts
- Maintenance period
What is covered
| Situation | Works section | Liability section |
|---|---|---|
| Storm or water damage to the works in progress | Yes | No |
| Theft of materials from the building site | Sometimes | No |
| Damage to an adjoining building | No | Yes |
| Injury to a bystander | No | Yes |
| The client's existing property | Sometimes | Sometimes |
| Repair of your own defective work | No | No |
This overview is general in nature and is not personal advice. What is actually covered, including exclusions, limits and the excess, is set out in the policy conditions and the insurance card (verzekeringskaart) of the insurer; you receive both before you take out cover. Taking out cover without advice? Then read what execution only means for you.
Where things go wrong in practice
Four points that make the difference between a policy that pays out and one that does not.
Ask how long commissioning is included
Test runs, cold and hot testing and the first period in operation are treated on the policy as a separate phase, often with a maximum number of weeks. On installations involving pressure, heat or high voltage that is the heaviest period. Also ask whether used or reconditioned equipment is included; it is regularly excluded. A policy that covers only the assembly lets go of you at the moment the risk begins.
Water causes the most expensive installation damage
A coupling that fails during pressure testing, a valve left open during filling, a pipe that freezes in an unheated building: the water ends up in floors, ceilings and other parties' work. Your own error in the pipe you put right yourself; the consequential damage to the building and to other people's finished work is usually insured. Test outside the finishing phase and record when you fill.
Soldering and flame cutting count as hot work
Pipework in ducts, crawl spaces and timber structures is often joined using open flame. Almost every policy applies a warranty clause to that: combustible items removed, an extinguisher to hand, screening and a check after the last flame. If you do not comply, that is an independent ground for refusing to pay a fire claim. Press fittings largely remove that risk.
Distinguish what you supply from what you install
If a unit supplied fails because of a manufacturing fault, that is the manufacturer's responsibility under Article 6:185 of the Dutch Civil Code and your supplier's under the contract of sale. The construction policy does not pay your removal and installation hours; you recover those from the supplier. What does belong on it is the damage the defect causes in the building. So always record which type and serial number you installed where.
Existing property is the most commonly missed section
If you work in or on an existing building, that building is not your works but the property of the client. Damage to it does not fall under section 1 and, on your AVB, falls under the care, custody and control exclusion. The section existing property fills that gap, and with conversions, renovations and installation work that is not an edge case but the core of the risk.
The maintenance period continues after handover
After handover there is often a maintenance period during which you remain liable for defects that arose during construction. Agree that period explicitly and have it stated on the policy. Under the Wet kwaliteitsborging (the Dutch Building Quality Assurance Act) this carries more weight: Article 7:758(4) of the Dutch Civil Code places the burden of proof for hidden defects on the contractor.
What does your premium depend on?
- Contract value of the installation work — The value of the installation to be erected, including equipment supplied, forms the basis.
- Type of installation — Heating, cooling, high voltage and process installations each have their own damage pattern during testing.
- Length of the commissioning period — The longer you let the installation run under supervision, the longer the heaviest phase lasts.
- New build or existing situation — Connecting to a running installation brings risk to the client's property that is absent on new build.
- Share of work involving naked flames — Soldering and flame work in existing buildings weighs more heavily than pressing and screwing.
- Guarantee and maintenance obligations — The period during which you can still be held to account after handover extends the risk period on the policy.
Insurers weigh these details differently. That is why comparing pays off.
How we arrange it
- You request a quoteWe take stock of your situation, your risk and your wishes.
- We compareseveral insurers, on premium as well as conditions.
- You receive a proposalWith an explanation of the differences and the exclusions.
- We arrange the switchIncluding cancellation, so there is no gap in cover.
9.5New policy
9.8Claims handling
Customers rate our service on four aspects: personal service, service delivery, availability and the outcome. The reviews are collected and published by NH1816 and come from customers who have actually taken out a policy with Finass Advies B.V. or reported a claim.
Frequently asked questions
The questions we are asked most often about this.
Is the test run insured automatically?
Not always, and that is the most important question on an installation policy. Testing and commissioning are often described as a separate phase, with a term of their own and sometimes an excess of their own. Have it recorded in writing how many weeks that period lasts and whether used or reconditioned parts fall under it. Without that confirmation you are uninsured at the moment the installation first runs.
I struck an existing pipe while connecting.
That is damage to the client's property. It does not fall under the cover on your own works, because the existing installation is not what you are handing over, and on a liability policy it founders on the care, custody and control exclusion. It is only covered with the existing property section. On installation work in existing buildings this is the most common claim, not an exception.
What is the difference from erection insurance?
The structure is the same; the emphasis differs. A construction policy is written around a structure under construction; an erection policy around the assembly, connection and testing of installations and machinery. For an installation company that mainly erects and tests, the latter usually fits better, particularly where the testing phase is long or takes place under pressure and voltage.
A heat pump supplied turns out to be defective. Who pays what?
The unit itself runs through your supplier and, for a defective product, through the producer under Article 6:185 of the Dutch Civil Code. Your own hours to replace it are a contractual matter and not an insured loss. If the defect causes damage in the building, for example because water leaks out of it, that consequential damage is a matter for the policy.
Read more
Similar pages
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About our service
Finass Verzekert is a trading name of Finass Advies B.V. We advise on and arrange non-life insurance on the basis of an objective analysis of several insurers, and receive commission for this from the insurer, which is included in the premium. You pay no separate advice fee. Before you take out cover, we establish your wishes and needs.
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This page was written and checked by an adviser at Finass Verzekert. Last updated on .
The information on this page is general in nature and is not personal advice.