Liability
- Applies only when uncoupled
- When coupled, liability runs via the tractor
- Often required by site operators
Container and trailer insurance
A semi-trailer or chassis worth tens of thousands of euros stands overnight on an unguarded site, and any damage is charged to you under the interchange contract.
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- 9.5 customer rating for a new policy
- AFM licence 12016589
- Personal 072 - 509 24 56, weekdays 9–17
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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
- We arrange the switch, including cancellation
A premium indication, not personal advice. Prefer to talk it through? Call 072 - 509 24 56.
Which details do we ask for?
Personal quote request. A no-obligation request: nothing is taken out automatically. After sending you receive a reference number and a confirmation by e-mail.
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- House number (required)
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- Would you like to include any other insurance? (required)
Additional questions follow per chosen insurance.
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- Preferred start date
- Already insured?
- Is there anything we should know? (required)
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- Have you, or anyone else with an interest in this insurance, been in contact with the police or judicial authorities in the past 8 years? (required)
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Additional questions follow per chosen insurance.
- Independent advice
- Several insurers
- Switching arranged
- Help with claims
In brief
Container and trailer insurance covers semi-trailers, trailers, container chassis and the containers themselves against damage and theft, and arranges liability for the equipment when it is uncoupled. As long as a semi-trailer is hitched to a tractor unit, third-party damage it causes runs through the tractor's insurance. If it stands uncoupled on a site and rolls away, or a door swings open against a parked car, there is no tractor, and liability must be arranged on the trailer itself.
The own-damage part is about value: a new refrigerated semi-trailer easily costs € 80,000 to € 120,000, a curtainsider € 30,000 to € 45,000 and a container chassis € 15,000 to € 30,000. Theft of complete semi-trailers with their load is a recurring problem in the Netherlands and Belgium, especially from unguarded lay-bys along the motorway. Insurers therefore ask about storage, the use of kingpin locks and in some cases a tracking system.
With hired or leased containers and chassis, the interchange or lease contract determines who insures and who bears the damage. Often the hirer accepts an excess per claim and an obligation to insure the equipment on an all-risks basis. We read those contracts alongside you and ensure the policy matches them.
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What does container and trailer insurance cover?
The choice of cover depends on the value of the equipment, whether it is owned or hired, where it stands at night and what the interchange or lease contract requires of you.
Third-party, fire and theft
Fire, theft, storm and glass damage to the equipment itself, without damage from your own actions or collisions.
- Theft subject to security requirements
- Fire and natural hazards
- Lower premium for older equipment
Comprehensive
All sudden damage to semi-trailer, chassis or container, including collision, overturning and damage during loading and unloading.
- Required under lease and interchange
- Loading and unloading damage covered
- Excess per event
What is covered
| Situation | Third-party, fire and theft | Comprehensive |
|---|---|---|
| Theft after forced entry, with the prescribed lock | Yes | Yes |
| Fire and storm damage on the pitch | Yes | Yes |
| Hail damage to roof and walls | Provided that | Yes |
| Collision damage while manoeuvring | No | Yes |
| Contents in the caravan or trailer | Provided that | Provided that |
| Damp, wear and deferred maintenance | No | No |
A trailer or caravan is not an independent motor vehicle and therefore has no insurance requirement of its own. Damage you cause to others with it falls under the third-party liability cover of the towing vehicle, as long as the combination is coupled (Article 2 WAM). Once the trailer is uncoupled and has come to a standstill, that cover no longer applies.
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.
What does your premium depend on?
- Ownership or rental. Your own equipment is insured for own damage; hired equipment calls for care, custody and control or equipment cover.
- Type of equipment. Dry container, reefer, tank or flatrack. The type determines value, inspection requirements and acceptance.
- Number of units. A fixed fleet is rated differently from varying numbers based on turnover or journeys.
- Storage and depot. Secured terminal grounds, your own fenced site or the public road between journeys.
- Area of deployment. Port area and inland, or international road transport as well, with longer unattended periods.
- Contractual obligations. The liability you accept in interchange and lease agreements determines the limit you need.
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.
Why 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.
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.
Where things go wrong in practice
Six points where container and trailer insurance runs into problems in practice.
Interchange and equipment agreements
When you collect a container or chassis from a shipping line or depot, you sign an interchange receipt: a document recording the condition of the equipment at that moment. Any damage found on return that is not on the receipt is for your account, at the owner's rates. Those rates are often far above the actual repair costs. Equipment and lease agreements also state that the hirer insures the equipment on an all-risks basis, sometimes with a minimum sum insured and a maximum excess. Photograph every container and chassis at collection and return, and let us compare the contracts with the policy.
Theft from lay-bys
Semi-trailers with valuable loads, such as electronics, tobacco, drinks and clothing, are stolen in targeted thefts from unguarded lay-bys along the A1, A2, A15 and A67 and in the Belgian and northern French border region. Often the complete semi-trailer is taken away with the thieves' own tractor unit. Insurers therefore require a kingpin lock or landing-leg lock when parked uncoupled, and for high-value loads, storage on a closed or guarded site. Some policies exclude theft if the semi-trailer is left unattended in a public place for longer than a certain time. The load itself does not fall under trailer insurance but under carrier's liability or a goods-in-transit policy.
Refrigerated trailers and refrigeration units
A refrigerated semi-trailer consists of the trailer and a refrigeration unit worth € 20,000 to € 30,000, with a diesel engine, a compressor and electronics. Damage to the unit from an internal failure is excluded as an inherent defect under ordinary own-damage cover; only external damage, such as a collision or fire, is covered. Separate machinery breakdown cover for the refrigeration unit fills that gap. In addition, a load that spoils because the unit fails is not damage to the trailer but cargo damage, which falls under carrier's liability or separate deterioration cover. These three policies must dovetail.
Damage during loading and unloading
Much of the damage to semi-trailers occurs not on the road but at the loading dock: a forklift piercing the side wall, a tail lift being overloaded, a container placed askew on the chassis by a reach stacker. Limited own-damage cover does not pay for this; only comprehensive cover includes damage caused by your own actions and by third parties during loading and unloading. If a third party causes the damage, it can be recovered from them, but in practice depot and terminal conditions are often drafted to exclude liability. So do not count on recovery, and choose comprehensive cover for equipment that visits terminals daily.
Liability when uncoupled
A semi-trailer that rolls away on a slope, a curtain that comes loose in a storm and damages a car, a container blown off a stack in a gale: as soon as the equipment is not hitched to a tractor, there is no motor insurance to cover the damage to third parties. That liability must be arranged separately, on the trailer policy or on the business liability insurance (AVB). For a company with its own tractor units and semi-trailers, this is often arranged on the fleet policy; for a company that only rents out or stores semi-trailers or containers, separate cover is needed. Site operators and terminals usually require proof of this cover.
Valuation and depreciation
Semi-trailers and chassis last fifteen to twenty years, but in the event of a total loss insurers pay out the current value, which falls quickly in the first years. A new refrigerated semi-trailer costing € 100,000 is often worth only about half after four years. A new-value arrangement in the first year or an agreed valuation prevents you having to make up the difference with the lease amount yourself after a theft. For leased equipment, additional lease cover that pays the difference between current value and outstanding debt is often worthwhile. For a fleet of several semi-trailers, a total sum insured with a schedule per item is usually used.
Frequently asked questions
Questions from hauliers and hire companies about container and trailer insurance.
Isn't my semi-trailer simply insured through the tractor unit?
Only the liability, and only while the semi-trailer is coupled. Damage to the semi-trailer itself, theft and damage it causes when uncoupled are not covered through the tractor. If you use different tractor units or leave semi-trailers uncoupled, you need your own trailer policy. With your own fleet, the trailer can often be included on the same policy as the tractor, with its own own-damage cover.
Who insures a hired container: the shipping line or me?
That is stated in the interchange or lease contract. With most shipping lines and leasing companies, the hirer bears the risk from collection until return, with an obligation to insure the equipment or a damage settlement scheme at fixed rates. Some lessors offer a risk waiver for a daily surcharge. We compare that waiver with the cost of your own policy.
Is the load in the container or semi-trailer included?
No. Trailer insurance covers the equipment, not what is inside it. Loads you carry for others fall under carrier's liability insurance, with the limited liability under the CMR Convention or the AVC (Dutch general transport conditions). Your own goods that you transport are insured on a goods-in-transit policy. When a complete semi-trailer with its load is stolen, two or three policies are therefore called upon, each for its own part.
What security does the insurer require for semi-trailers?
Usually a kingpin lock or a lock on the landing legs when parked uncoupled, and for valuable loads, storage on a closed or guarded site. For refrigerated semi-trailers and high-value semi-trailers, a tracking system is sometimes required. The requirements are set out as a clause on the policy; in the event of theft without the security having been applied, the insurer may refuse to pay or apply a higher excess.
Every situation is different. For these situations we have a separate page.
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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 compiled by Finass Verzekert (LinkedIn). Last updated on .
The information on this page is general in nature and is not personal advice.