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
The main contractor takes out the project policy, but that policy protects first of all his own interest. Your position depends on a single line on the policy schedule: are subcontractors included as insured capacity, or has the insurer merely waived its right of recovery? Those are two different things and they have different outcomes.
If you are nowhere on the policy, the insurer pays the main contractor and then recovers from you as the party that caused the loss. Your own liability cover only partly absorbs that: damage to the item you were working on at the time falls under the care, custody and control clause.
What the project policy does not arrange for you in any variant is your own tools, your machinery and your site hut on the site. The same applies to your position as employer of the people you bring with you.
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.
Being co-insured is not the same as a waiver of recovery
If you are co-insured, you have your own right to a payout and can report a claim yourself. If the insurer only waiver of recourse against subcontractors, you are protected against recovery but have no claim of your own: you remain dependent on the main contractor to report the claim and pass the money on. Ask which of the two is on the policy schedule, because the subcontract almost always says only that there is a CAR policy.
The recovery comes months later and is about your mistake
If you damage another party's work on the same site, that is put right out of the project policy and the bill then goes to you. The insurer steps into the rights of the main contractor, who holds you liable under Article 6:162 of the Dutch Civil Code. The main contractor is meanwhile liable towards the client for your mistakes under Article 6:171 DCC, so he has every reason to press that claim.
Your people work under someone else's supervision
You remain the employer, even if the main contractor sets the programme and provides the site facilities. Article 7:658 of the Dutch Civil Code places the duty of care on you, and after an accident you have to show that you met it on a site you do not set up. So record which safety provisions the main contractor supplies and report any shortcomings in writing. Recovery from your own employee is virtually ruled out by Article 7:661 DCC.
Three things the project policy never does for you
The main contractor's CAR policy does not pay to put your own defective work right: rewelding, re-pouring or refitting is at your expense. Contractual penalties and reductions imposed on you for delay also fall outside it, as do your own tools, machinery and material on site. For the last of these you need your own plant or goods cover, with requirements about storage outside working hours.
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?
Your share of the contract sum. It is not the total project value that counts, but the value of the part you carry out and for which you can be held to account.
The type of work you take on. Structural work, roofing and facade work or installation work have a different damage pattern from finishing.
Number of clients per year. Whether you work regularly for two main contractors or for a different one each time changes the spread of your risk.
The contract terms you sign. Indemnity provisions and penalty clauses passed down increase your liability beyond the statutory level.
Working in or on existing buildings. Determines whether the existing property section is needed and how high it has to be set.
Excess and sections chosen. A higher excess per event lowers the premium; extra sections raise it.
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.
How do I tell from the policy schedule whether I am really covered?
Look for the list of insured parties. If it names the capacity of subcontractors or your company name, you are a co-insured. If it says only that the insurer waives recovery against subcontractors, you are protected against recovery alone. A verbal confirmation or a line in the subcontract is not evidence; ask for the policy schedule or a certificate of insurance.
Do I need a CAR policy of my own as well?
That depends on how you work. If you regularly take on your own assignments or work for clients without a project policy, continuous CAR cover in your own name is sensible. If you work exclusively under main contractors who demonstrably insure you as well, liability cover with attention to the care, custody and control clause is often enough.
The main contractor is setting the loss off against my instalment. Is that allowed?
Set-off is only permitted where there is a due and payable claim against you, and that requires liability, not a suspicion. Dispute the account of events in writing and report the matter to your own insurer immediately; Article 7:941 of the Dutch Civil Code requires you to report as soon as you know of the claim. Do not admit liability before your insurer has assessed how the loss occurred.
Who pays for damage to my own tools on site?
You do, unless you have insured them yourself. Tools, small machines and material in your van or site hut are not part of the works and therefore fall outside section 1 of every CAR policy, even where you are a co-insured. For that you take out your own plant or tools cover, with conditions about storage and locking up outside working hours.
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.
