Tractor unit and semi-trailer · the load separately · drivers
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As soon as you carry goods for third parties, the most dangerous item is not your own-damage policy but your carrier's liability, and that is settled not in value but in kilograms.
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A premium indication, not Personal advice. Prefer to talk it through? Call 072 - 509 24 56.
In letter
In commercial carriage of goods you rarely insure one vehicle. You insure a park: Tractor units, semi-trailers, trailers and changing equipment, with a policy on which vehicles are added and removed and whose premium is based on the claims burden of the fleet as a whole. Every registered vehicle has its own third-party liability requirement under Article 2 of the Dutch Engine Insurance Liability Act (WAM), including a semi-trailer that cannot drive itself.
The load falls outside the vehicle policy. Your liability as a carrier is also limited by law per kilogram: 8.33 SDR for international Transportation under CMR and € 3.40 for domestic Transportation under the AVC conditions. With light, valuable consignments that comes nowhere near the actual value. The difference belongs on the client's goods in transit insurance, or you offer it as a service.
The third element is the territorial scope. Your policy covers the countries you have declared and no more than that. If you occasionally drive further, that is an extension arranged in advance and not a matter of reporting afterwards. Also place Transportation insurance for SMEs alongside this policy if you also carry your own goods.
The structure of the cover in three parts, with an overview per situation below.
The basics
Vehicle
A Tractor unit, semi-trailer or box-body lorry, with third-party liability and own-damage cover if you choose.
Third-party liability compulsory by law
Own-damage cover with an excess
Declare the body separately
Not included
Load
The goods you carry, with their own limits.
CMR: 8.33 SDR per kg
AVC: € 3.40 per kg
Goods in transit for the actual value
Outside the policy
Drivers
Injury to your own staff in traffic.
Falls outside the AVB
WEGAS insurance
Also when you are at fault
What is covered
Situation
Vehicle policy
Goods in transit
WEGAS
A collision with the Tractor unit
Yes
No
No
Theft of the semi-trailer from the site
Sometimes
No
No
Load damaged or stolen
No
Yes
No
Injury to your driver on the road
No
No
Yes
Refrigeration unit or tail lift
Sometimes
No
No
Driving while disqualified
No
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 limit per kilogram determines your actual exposure
Work your loads through against the CMR and AVC limits before you assume you are covered. A pallet of electronics or medical equipment weighs little and is worth a lot. There the statutory limit is far removed from the invoice value. Conversely, with bulk it is the weight that leads. The limit can fall away in cases of wilful recklessness, and intent remains uninsurable in any event under Article 7:952 of the Dutch Civil Code. Record for each type of load who bears the difference.
Standing uncoupled is the moment for theft
Semi-trailers and trailers almost always disappear when they stand unattended on a site or beside a road. Insurers translate that into strict requirements: an approved kingpin lock, kingpin security, camera surveillance at the parking location and, for higher values, a tracking system. Those requirements are conditions of cover, not advice. Also report where the vehicles stand outside working hours; a parking area beside the motorway is something very different for acceptance from a locked site of your own.
Outside the area declared there is simply no cover
The territorial scope on your policy schedule is a boundary and not an indication. A journey to a country that is not on it is uninsured. The same often applies to cabotage in a country you were only allowed to drive through. Policies also exclude as standard: carriage of dangerous goods without an ADR declaration, valuables Transportation and hiring the vehicle out to third parties. For a single journey that departs from the norm you apply for an extension in advance. That is a matter of hours.
Your driver is not on this policy
If a driver is injured in traffic, the Engine policy offers them nothing where they made the mistake themselves, and public and employers' liability insurance excludes Engine vehicles. Even so, an obligation rests on you: it follows from Article 7:611 of the Dutch Civil Code that an employer must arrange proper insurance for employees who take part in traffic for work. A WEGAS insurancefills that gap. For injury at the loading and unloading point, there is also Article 7:658 of the Dutch Civil Code.
Work out the liability limit for your load
For international Transportation the CMR limit of 8.33 SDR per kilogram applies, roughly ten euros when converted; domestically it is € 3.40 under the AVC conditions. With light, valuable loads that comes nowhere near the actual loss. The client insures the difference with a goods-in-transit insurance, or you offer that as a service.
Injury to an employee who takes part in traffic for work falls outside the Engine policy and outside the AVB, which excludes Engine vehicles. The Supreme Court has held that an employer must, as a matter of good employment practice, arrange proper insurance for these employees. That is what a WEGAS policy does.
Size and composition of the fleet. The number of Tractor units, semi-trailers and trailers and the ratio between them; from a few vehicles onwards, a fleet basis is used.
Area of Transportation. Domestic, Benelux, the European Union or beyond. Each area has its own claims pattern.
Type of load. General cargo, refrigerated Transportation, tanker haulage or ADR-regulated substances determine the risk class.
Claims record over recent years. With a fleet policy the result for the fleet as a whole counts, not the no-claims years per vehicle.
Parking location and security outside working hours. A locked site of your own, a guarded parking area or the public road, plus kingpin locks and tracking systems.
Type of own-damage cover and excess. Third-party liability only, third-party liability plus third-party, fire and theft, or comprehensive cover, with an excess per event or per vehicle.
Insurers weigh these details differently. That is where your saving is.
How we arrange it
You Request a quoteWe take stock of your activities, turnover and 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.
From how many vehicles is a fleet policy worthwhile?
In reality from about three to five vehicles. The reason is not only the premium but the administration: you add and remove vehicles on one policy, with one renewal date and one claims file. The premium is then based on the claims record of the whole fleet, so that one bad year weighs less heavily on a single registration.
Is the load I carry covered?
No. The vehicle policy covers the vehicle. The goods fall outside it. Your liability as a carrier is also limited to 8.33 SDR per kilogram under CMR and € 3.40 per kilogram under the AVC conditions. Anyone who wants the actual value covered also needs a goods-in-transit insurance, usually taken out by the client.
I subcontract journeys to charter hauliers. Who is liable then?
Towards your client you remain the carrier, even where someone else actually drives. In addition, you can be held liable under Article 6:171 of the Dutch Civil Code for the mistakes of non-subordinates carrying out work for you. So record in your charter agreement what cover the charter haulier maintains and ask for up-to-date evidence of insurance each year.
What happens with a journey outside my territorial scope?
There is then no cover, not even partial cover. The area declared is the boundary of the policy and not an expectation. For an occasional journey you apply for an extension in advance. That is usually arranged quickly. For journeys outside the European Union, also check that the green card lists the countries concerned.
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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