The works
- Fire, storm and water
- Theft of materials
- Inherent defect and design fault
- Vandalism on the building site
A plasterer arrives when the building is nearly finished, brings water and mortar, and works among everything someone else has just handed over.
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Your place in the sequence determines your risk. When you start, the frames are in, the pipework is boxed in, the radiators are hung and the floor has often already been laid. Everything you touch is therefore someone else's work or the client's property, and on your liability insurance that falls under the care, custody and control exclusion.
On top of that you work with wet materials and with pumps. A burst coupling or a blocked hose spreads mortar or plaster across a room in seconds, and the water you bring in takes weeks to leave again. It is in that drying phase that the complaints about mould, warped timber and finishes coming away arise.
So do not insure only your own work. The existing property belonging to the client section and liability cover with attention to the care, custody and control clause are what matter here.
We compare your construction all risks (CAR) insurance across dozens of insurers, explain where the real differences lie, and arrange the switch from start to finish — without you having to chase it yourself.
Construction all risks (CAR) insurance
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Get coveredThe structure of the cover in three parts, with an overview per situation below.
Damage to the works themselves during construction or installation.
Damage to property and persons of third parties on and around the works.
What comes into play alongside the works themselves.
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.
Insurers weigh these details differently. That is where your saving is.
We look at the terms as well as the premium, and stay your point of contact when there is a claim.
We are not tied to one insurer and compare on the basis of an objective analysis of several companies.
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We cancel your old policy and align the start date, so you are never a day without cover.
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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.
Four points that make the difference between a policy that pays out and one that does not.
If a coupling bursts or a hose splits under pressure, a whole room is covered in mortar: ceiling, windows, radiators and the floor you are standing on. Check couplings and hoses when setting up, keep the working pressure within the manufacturer's specification, and do not carry on with a pump that has already blocked earlier in the day. Cover floors completely and do not leave material standing in the line during a break.
Plastering adds tens of litres of moisture to a building. Without ventilation or heating that settles on cold surfaces and on timber that was already there. Complaints about mould on frames, laminate lifting and wallpaper peeling almost always come from that phase. Record in writing which drying conditions you need and who provides them, because in a building where you do not control the heating you otherwise bear the consequences of someone else's choice.
Splashes on a parquet floor, a fitted kitchen or a newly finished bannister lead to a dispute about whether the damage was already there. Photograph the room with a date before you open the first bag, record how you covered up, and report damage you find to the site manager the same day. When working in an occupied building, have that survey signed off by the occupant.
Shrinkage cracks, efflorescence, differences in texture or a finish that does not meet the agreed class count as the result of workmanship and not as a sudden event; redoing it is at your expense. Detachment caused by a substrate you should have checked also falls outside. Your mixing pump, silo, scaffolding and tools are ancillary plant and are only covered if you have declared them separately.
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.
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.
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Report it to your insurer immediately and limit the damage before the mortar sets. That duty to mitigate the loss goes with every policy. Photograph the situation before you start clearing up, including the burst coupling itself, and keep the component. Damage to the client's floor and interior runs through the existing property section or through your liability cover.
Not on your liability insurance: you had that floor in your charge and that falls under the care, custody and control exclusion. Only the client's existing property section fills that gap, and then with a limit that matches the fit-out of the buildings you work in. On finishing work in completed homes, that is the most important cover on your policy.
Formally the party carrying out the work is responsible for the result, so you are the first to be held to account. You can only rebut that if you set out the necessary drying conditions in writing in advance and reported that they were not being met. Record the temperature and ventilation in the job file. Without that notification, cracking is a workmanship error.
Only if you are named on it as a co-insured, and even then that policy rarely covers your ancillary plant or your liability as an employer. Ask for the policy schedule and check whether the existing property section is included. If you are not named on it, the insurer can recover a payout from you if you caused the loss.
Every situation is different. For these situations we have a separate page.
Request a quote without obligation. We will look at which insurer best matches your activities and your risk.
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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 compiled by Finass Verzekert (LinkedIn). Last updated on .
The information on this page is general in nature and is not personal advice.
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