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 criticism of a consultant is rarely that the advice was wrong. It is that too little was investigated, that an assumption was not tested or that there was no warning about a risk the adviser should have seen. The loss is then a decision that turned out badly: an investment, a reorganisation, a choice of system. Nothing is broken; that is pure financial loss and it falls outside public and employers' liability insurance.
Against that stands a second feature: your fee bears no relation to the size of the decision that follows it. That is why contractual limitation of liability, usually to the contract sum or a multiple of it, is the norm in this sector. Such a limitation only works if the terms were demonstrably supplied before or when the agreement was concluded and your quotation refers to them expressly.
If you work as an interim within the client's organisation, the picture changes. A line of instruction arises, and when there is a loss the question is under whose direction you were acting. For non-subordinates you engage for your own assignment, Article 6:171 of the Dutch Civil Code. See also liability for engineers, where the advice translates into a physical structure.
What does liability cover include for consultants?
The structure of the cover in three parts, with an overview per situation below.
The basics
Liability
AVB for property damage and injury, BAV for professional errors.
Damage to third parties
Employers' liability
Care, custody and control as an extension
Your business
Assets and continuity
Business contents, goods and lost turnover during downtime.
Business contents at replacement value as new
Goods at cost price
Business interruption or additional costs
If you employ people
Staff
Sickness absence, accidents and the traffic risk.
Continued pay for 104 weeks
Group personal accident
WEGAS for traffic risks
What is covered
Situation
AVB
BAV
Cyber
Injury to a visitor or customer
Yes
No
No
Damage to a client's property
Sometimes
No
No
Financial loss caused by an advisory or calculation error
No
Yes
No
Downtime after a ransomware attack
No
No
Yes
Data breach involving personal data
No
Sometimes
Yes
Damage to property in your care
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 duty to investigate and the duty to warn
An adviser may rely on what the client supplies, but not without limit. If you see a figure that cannot be right or an assumption that carries the whole model, you should point that out. State in your report which data you received from the client, which you did not verify and which risks you identified. That passage is often decisive when a claim arises.
A limitation only works if you refer to it
Limit your liability to an amount in proportion to your fee, and make sure your terms were handed over before or when the assignment was taken on. If the client sends their own purchasing terms and you do not expressly reject them, theirs may apply. A reference at the bottom of an invoice is too late. That comes after the contract is concluded.
Interim assignments and third parties engaged
If you work under the client's day-to-day direction, the question of who carries the mistake is different from a classic advisory assignment. Set out in the agreement whether you are the contractor and who gives instructions. If you engage a specialist yourself for your assignment, you remain answerable to the client under Article 6:171 of the Dutch Civil Code. So check that the specialist is insured themselves.
What the policy does not pay
Excluded are: guarantees and penalty clauses under which you take on more than the law imposes, because that is an obligation of your own; refunding or waiving your fee and carrying out the assignment again; claims arising from circumstances you already knew of when applying for the insurance, given the duty of disclosure in Article 7:928 of the Dutch Civil Code; and anything done intentionally.
What does your premium depend on?
Field of advice. Organisational consultancy, IT, finance or engineering. Each field has its own pattern of claims.
Size of the assignments. It is not your fee that counts, but the size of the decisions that follow your advice.
Annual turnover and number of advisers. The basis for the calculation, including freelancers working under your name.
Working area. Clients or projects in North America are often excluded or assessed separately.
General terms and conditions. Whether a limitation of liability has been included and whether it demonstrably applies.
Retroactive date and run-off cover. From which date earlier mistakes are included and how long you remain covered after termination.
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.
My advice turned out badly. Am I liable straight away?
No. You have an obligation of effort, not of result. Liability only arises if you did not act as a reasonably competent adviser would: a wrong calculation, an untested assumption or a risk you did not mention. A decision that disappoints while your analysis was sound and complete is the client's business risk and not a professional mistake.
Do my terms apply if the client sends their purchasing terms?
Not automatically. If both parties refer to their own terms, in principle those of the party that referred to them first apply, unless the other expressly rejects the other set. So do that expressly and in writing when you issue the quotation. Otherwise you end up with purchasing terms that often widen your liability.
I hire in a specialist. Who is liable for their mistake?
Towards your client you remain answerable. For the mistakes of non-subordinates you engage for your business, Article 6:171 of the Dutch Civil Code applies. You can then try to recover the loss from that specialist. So check before you start that they have their own professional indemnity cover with a limit that matches the assignment, and record the division of roles in writing.
The assignment was already running when I took out the insurance. Am I covered?
That depends on the start date and the retroactive date agreed. Mistakes made before that date are only covered if run-in cover is included. Importantly: circumstances you already knew of on application that could lead to a claim have to be disclosed. If you do not disclose them, the insurer can rely on Articles 7:928 and 7:930 of the Dutch Civil Code.
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.
