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
A premium indication, not personal advice. Prefer to talk it through? Call 072 - 509 24 56.
In brief
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.
The structure of the cover in three parts, with an overview per situation below.
Section 1
The works
Damage to the works themselves during construction or installation.
Fire, storm and water
Theft of materials
Inherent defect and design fault
Vandalism on the building site
Section 2
Liability
Damage to property and persons of third parties on and around the works.
Adjoining premises
Injury to bystanders
Cables and pipes
Optional
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.
The mixing pump hose is your largest single loss
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.
The water you bring in has to come out again
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.
Covering up and a pre-work survey are evidence, not politeness
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.
Cracks and colour differences are not an insured loss
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.
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?
Machine or hand application. Working with a pump and silo increases both the pace and the scale of a single incident.
New build or finishing in existing buildings. In a shell there is little there. In an occupied home you are among contents and finished surfaces.
Share of decorative plaster and specialist work. Lime and clay systems and external wall insulation have a different damage pattern from standard internal plastering.
External work on facades. Facade rendering brings scaffolding, height and splash damage to adjoining properties and vehicles into play.
Limit for existing property. Set it at the value of the buildings you work in, not at your contract sum.
Number of employees and use of agency workers. Determines the extent of your employers' liability and the supervision the insurer expects.
Insurers weigh these details differently. That is where your saving is.
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.
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.
The pump hose has burst and the whole living room is covered. What now?
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.
Is damage to the floor I am standing on covered?
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.
The client turns the heating off and the plaster cracks. Who bears that?
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.
Am I covered by the main contractor's policy?
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.
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.
You will find our licence, KvK and Kifid details and our complaints procedure at the foot of every page.
