AVB
- Injury and property damage to third parties
- Employers' liability where you have staff
- Care, custody and control cover often separate and limited
- No cover for your own defective work
AVB · CAR · plant and machinery
Insurance for a building contractor
A contractor does not need one insurance policy, but a set that fits together. The differences come down to who suffers the loss: your client, a third party, or you.
- several insurers compared objectively
- 9.5 customer rating for a new policy
- AFM licence 12016589
- Personal 072 - 509 24 56, weekdays 9–17
Deze pagina in het Nederlands: Verzekeringen voor een aannemer in de bouw.
Calculate your premium or request a quote
Without obligation; a reply within one working day.
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
The basis is the public and employers' liability insurance (AVB). This covers damage that you or your staff cause to someone else: injury to a bystander, a struck cable, damage to the client's existing property. The legal basis is Article 6:162 of the Dutch Civil Code, wrongful act. If you employ staff, the AVB also covers employers' liability under Article 7:658 of the Dutch Civil Code for injury to your own employees.
In addition, the Construction all risks (CAR) insurance (construction all risks). This does not insure liability, but the works themselves: damage to the structure under construction caused by fire, storm, theft or a mistake by someone on site. Many specifications and the UAV standard conditions make CAR cover contractually compulsory. Who takes out the CAR policy — the main contractor or the client — determines whether you are co-insured as a subcontractor or need to arrange cover yourself.
The third layer concerns your own property and people: plant, machinery and tools, your van, and, if you have staff, a sickness absence insurance with occupational health support. A business owner without staff should add disability cover. Also see the package for self-employed professionals in construction.
The three policies that complement each other
Each policy answers a different question: who is liable, what happens to the works, and what happens to your own equipment.
CAR
Insures the structure itself during construction and the maintenance period.
- Fire, storm, theft and vandalism
- Available on an annual or a per-project basis
- Existing property as a separate section
- The maintenance period must be included expressly
Plant and tools
Covers machinery, tools and the contents of your van.
- Cranes, excavators and aerial work platforms
- Tools in the van, subject to an alarm requirement
- Often no cover if the van is left out overnight
- Hired equipment must be notified separately
What is covered
| Situation | AVB | CAR |
|---|---|---|
| Injury to a passer-by on the building site | Yes | No |
| Storm damage to the half-finished works | No | Yes |
| Theft of materials already installed | No | Yes |
| Damage to the client's existing premises | Provided that | Provided that |
| Putting right your own defective work | No | No |
| Penalties and costs for late completion | No | No |
What is actually covered, including exclusions, limits and the excess, is set out in the policy conditions and the insurance card (verzekeringskaart) that you receive before you take out cover.
Where things go wrong in practice
Two points that cause more discussion for a contractor than the premium does.
Your own work is not insured
No contractor's policy pays for redoing your own work. If you lay a floor incorrectly, taking it up and relaying it is your own business risk. What the AVB can cover is the consequential loss: the damaged furniture, the floor below that has been flooded. Nor does an ordinary AVB cover pure financial loss without property damage or injury, such as the client's lost turnover. That requires professional indemnity cover if you also design or advise.
Declare what you actually do
Your premium and acceptance depend on the description of your activities. If you carry out piling, demolition, roofing with naked flames or work on the railways or in petrochemicals , that is a different risk from finishing work. When you take out the policy, the duty of disclosure under Article 7:928 of the Dutch Civil Codeapplies; if your statement is inaccurate, the payout may be reduced or withheld under Article 7:930 of the Dutch Civil Code. So report a change in activities, turnover or headcount as it happens, rather than at renewal.
What does your premium depend on?
- Nature of the work — finishing, structural work or demolition
- Annual turnover and payroll — the usual basis for calculation
- Number of employees — permanent, hired in or through an agency
- Sum insured per claim — and the maximum per year
- Working with naked flames or at height — increases the risk
- Claims history and excess — over the past few years
Insurers weigh these details differently. That is why comparing pays off.
How we arrange it
- You request a quoteWe take stock of your situation, risk 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.
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.
Do I need construction all risks insurance as a contractor if the client already has one?
That depends on the client's policy. If you are named on it as a co-insured party, you are covered for that project, although the excess often still falls to you. Always ask for the policy schedule and the clauses. If you work for several clients, an annual CAR policy is usually more practical than relying on cover per project.
What is the care, custody and control exclusion and why does it matter?
Care, custody and control concerns property you have in your keeping: the building you are working in, the machine you are repairing. An AVB normally excludes damage to that property, because you have control over it. A care, custody and control clause brings such damage back into cover up to a limited amount. For a contractor working in existing buildings, this is usually the most important part of the policy.
Are my tools in the van insured against theft?
Only with separate tools cover, and almost always subject to conditions. Insurers generally require a sound lock or an approved alarm, and exclude theft if the vehicle was parked on the street overnight. Purchase invoices also matter: without proof of ownership and value, the loss is hard to substantiate. Read the security requirements before you need the policy.
What changes if I engage subcontractors?
You remain responsible to your client for the whole job. A subcontractor needs their own AVB; without one, your insurer may pass the loss back to you or restrict cover. Set out in the contract what cover you require and ask for a copy of the policy schedule each year. Also tell your own insurer that you engage third parties.
Read more
Similar pages
- Liability insurance for construction and contracting
- Construction all risks (CAR) insurance for contractors
- Liability insurance for a self-employed professional (zzp’er) in contracting
- A self-employed professional as co-insured on the CAR policy
- Construction all risks (CAR) insurance for construction and erection work
Do your policies fit together?
Request a quote without obligation; we will set your AVB, CAR and equipment cover against your contract conditions.
Prefer to call? 072 - 509 24 56, weekdays 09:00–17:00.
Claim on the road? Emergency line 06 - 55 20 40 72.
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.
You will find our licence, KvK and Kifid details and our complaints procedure at the foot of every page.
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.