CAR cover for self-employed professionals in construction and installation
Most self-employed people in construction do not take out a project policy themselves, but work under someone else's policy. The question is then whether you are named on it as an insured party or only appear to be safe on paper.
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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.
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A premium indication, not personal advice. Prefer to talk it through? Call 072 - 509 24 56.
- Independent advice
- Several insurers
- Switching arranged
- Help with claims
In brief
On a building site there is almost always a project policy, taken out by the client or the main contractor. Whether it is of any use to you as a self-employed professional depends on one line on the policy schedule: the list of insured parties. If you are not on it, the insurer will pay the main contractor, but may then seek recovery from you if the damage is attributable to your work or your mistake. That right of recovery arises from subrogation and really is used in practice.
So ask for two documents before you start: the policy schedule with the description of the insured parties, and the clause sheet with the excesses for each section. Many subcontracting agreements place the excess contractually on the party carrying out the work, sometimes per event and sometimes separately per section. Such a provision means that for smaller losses you are effectively uninsured, even though you are named on the policy.
If you take on work yourself from a private or business client, you carry the works until handover and you need your own CAR cover for the self-employed, either single-project or annual. For injury to people and damage to third-party property you also still need a liability insurance; the two cover different things and do not replace each other.
This page deals with one situation. The full overview is on Compare construction all risks (CAR) insurance.
The same independent view, whatever insurer
We work with dozens of insurers and choose whichever fits your situation best — not whichever pays us the most. That means advice built around you, not around one brand.
Insurers
Independent
AdviceWhy arrange it through Finass Verzekert?
We look at the terms as well as the premium, and stay your point of contact when there is a claim.
Independent
We are not tied to one insurer and compare on the basis of an objective analysis of several companies.
One fixed adviser
You call or email someone who knows your file. No menu options, no changing call centres.
Switching without hassle
We cancel your old policy and align the start date, so you are never a day without cover.
Help with claims
We report the claim and monitor how it is handled. In urgent cases you can reach us on the emergency line.
What to look out for
Four points that determine whether someone else's policy really protects you.
Co-insured or merely present
The term 'insured parties' on a project policy often covers the client, the main contractor and subcontractors, but not always. If the category you fall into is missing, or is limited to specifically named parties, there is no cover for you. Ask for written confirmation from the insurer or insurance adviser; an assurance from the site manager is worth nothing when you claim.
The excess passed on to you
Standard conditions in construction regularly place the excess with the party at fault. For water and storm damage that excess is usually higher than for other events. Work out in advance what an event would actually cost you and record whether the amount applies per event or per section; that difference can bite more than once in a single loss.
Your own tools and equipment are separate
A project policy covers the works, not your van, your crane or your toolbox. Ancillary equipment is a separate section which is often only included for the main contractor. Theft from a building site is also subject to requirements about locking up and storage outside working hours. Arrange that yourself through equipment cover and do not assume that the building site is insured.
What is also not covered under a project policy
Still excluded is putting right your own defective work or materials, loss due to delay and contractual penalties, and damage caused by intent or wilful recklessness (Article 7:952 of the Dutch Civil Code). Also pure financial loss, such as a claim about incorrect setting out through which someone loses turnover without anything being physically damaged, falls outside both the CAR and the liability cover.
What does your premium depend on?
- The work you carry out: height, demolition, groundwork and hot works count heavily
- Contract sum or annual turnover: depending on whether cover is single-project or annual
- Position in the chain: main contractor, subcontractor or work on a time and materials basis
- Excess: often separate for each type of event
- Ancillary equipment included: tools, machinery and scaffolding
- Claims history: number of claims in recent years
Insurers weigh these details differently. That is where your saving is.
What is covered
| Situation | Project policy | Your own CAR policy |
|---|---|---|
| Storm blows off the roof boarding you fitted to the works under construction | Provided that | Yes |
| The main contractor recovers the damage to your work from you because you are not among the insured parties | No | Yes |
| The excess your subcontracting agreement places on you after water damage | No | No |
| Your toolbox disappears from the site hut outside working hours | No | No |
| Welding work by another subcontractor causes a fire in the part you had already finished | Provided that | Yes |
| A visitor to the site is injured when your materials topple over | No | No |
Someone else's policy only works for you once your category is expressly included among the insured parties.
Frequently asked questions
This is what people ask us most.
The main contractor says I am co-insured. Is that enough?
Not without documents. Ask for the policy schedule, the clause sheets and the description of the insured parties, and keep them with the project file. Also have it recorded whether the insurer waives recovery against subcontractors. Without that waiver, a payout to the main contractor can still come back to you, even if you are formally named on the policy.
Am I also protected by a CAR policy when working for private clients?
With a private client there is usually no project policy. If you take on the work, you carry the risk for the works until handover. Single-project cover matches that. You can read about the distinction from the annual version under CAR cover for a single project. Record in the quotation who takes out which insurance.
What happens with storm or water damage to a half-finished job?
That is a classic CAR claim, but with restrictions. Insurers require the works to be properly covered and secured outside working hours. If that has not been done, the claim is refused for insufficient precautions. For storm and water a higher excess often applies, and sometimes a separate definition of rainfall entering the building.
As a self-employed person, am I insured for injury to myself?
No. CAR and liability cover concern other people's losses, not your own loss of income. As a self-employed person you have no employer liable under Article 7:658 of the Dutch Civil Code, unless you can show you worked under a client's authority. For that, a disability insurance or accident cover is the route to take.
Every situation is different. For these situations we have a separate page.
- Why we work with different insurersThe main page
- Construction all risks (CAR) insurance for subcontractorsThe main contractor's policy, co-insured, own plant
- Construction all risks (CAR) insurance for self-employed professionalsOne project, main contractor, subcontracting
- The self-employed professional as a co-insured party under a CAR policySubcontractor, policy schedule, own equipment