Your own machines · care, custody and control · hired equipment
Insuring plant and machinery for self-employed professionals
As a self-employed professional your risk rarely lies in your own mini excavator: it lies in the machine you hire, in the main contractor's contract and in the fact that there is no employer to carry your own injury.
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.
In brief
You insure your own machines with plant and machinery insurance: liability for damage to third parties, own-damage cover for the machine itself. The gaps are at the edges. Hired equipment is in your care and therefore falls under the care, custody and control exclusion in your liability insurance, while the hire company places liability on you in its hire terms.
The second gap is your own position. You are not an employee, so the protection of Articles 7:658 and 7:611 of the Dutch Civil Code does not apply to you. If the machine tips over with you in it, there is no employer to be liable and the plant and machinery policy does not pay for your injury: it covers the machine and damage to third parties.
Plant and machinery for the self-employed: what is covered?
The structure of the cover in three parts, with an overview per situation below.
Liability
Third-party liability for plant and machinery
Damage you cause to others with the machine.
Compulsory on public roads
Also during work
Cables and pipes separately
The machine itself
Own-damage cover
Damage to the machine, the body and the attachments.
Fire and storm
Theft from the site
Overturning and collision
Extensions
Extensions
What you add separately.
Inherent defect and machinery breakdown
Transport to the site
Hired plant
What is covered
Situation
Third-party liability for plant and machinery
Own-damage cover
Damage to a building or a parked car next to the site
Yes
No
Theft of the machine from the building site
No
Provided that
Fire and storm damage
No
Yes
Inherent defect in the hydraulics or the engine
No
Provided that
Damage to the item you are working on with the machine
No
No
Wear and deferred maintenance
No
No
Mobile plant is a motor vehicle within the meaning of the WAM and needs third-party liability insurance on public roads; non-mobile plant does not. Damage to cables and pipes is generally only covered if the excavation notification has been made and the trial trenches have been dug. The item you work on with the machine falls under the care, custody and control exclusion.
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.
Hired equipment falls between two policies
The hire agreement places damage, theft and often continuing hire charges during repair on you, and your liability insurance excludes things in your care as standard. So insure a fixed amount for hired equipment. Note what the hire company's damage waiver actually is: usually a limitation of your liability with an excess and exceptions for theft and gross negligence, not full cover.
Your place in the chain determines who pays
If you are on a project as a subcontractor, the client is liable towards third parties under Article 6:171 of the Dutch Civil Code and then recovers that from you. The project's CAR insurance also usually covers only the works themselves; subcontractors' equipment is included only if it has been expressly declared. Ask before you start who is insured for what and do not accept an indemnity clause without knowing what your own policy takes over from it.
Your own injury is not insured anywhere
Without an employer there is no duty of care under Article 7:658 of the Dutch Civil Code and no insurance obligation for work-related travel under Article 7:611 of the Dutch Civil Code. If you are injured because the machine tips over or a load falls, there is only cover if you arranged it yourself: personal accident insurance, disability insurance (AOV) or a mutual sickness fund. The liability cover on the machine does not pay out to you, because you are not a third party.
Storage at home and transport on the trailer
Most self-employed people put the machine on their own land or on the driveway in the evening. That address and the security belong in the application. If reality differs from it, you are up against the duty of disclosure in Article 7:928 of the Dutch Civil Code. Also excluded are: theft without the prescribed tracker or locking, damage during transport where no transit cover has been included, and the load working loose on the way.
Compact plant is stolen most often
Mini excavators, plate compactors and generators are light enough to be driven away on a trailer. At higher values insurers ask for a tracker and arrangements for storage outside working hours. Record serial numbers and mark your equipment.
Downtime costs more than the repair
As a self-employed professional you rarely have a spare machine. If your main machine is out of action, your work stops. Work out what a week without that machine costs you and weigh that against cover for hired equipment or machinery breakdown with business interruption.
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.
Usually not. It is a limitation of your liability for a surcharge, with an excess and exceptions for theft, incorrect use and gross negligence. Theft of a hired plate compactor from the building site therefore often remains at your expense. A fixed insured amount for hired equipment on your own policy is generally the better route.
Am I covered through the main contractor's CAR insurance?
Only to the extent that you are included in it. A CAR policy covers the works themselves; subcontractors' ancillary equipment is only included if it has been expressly declared, and your liability remains your own affair in any event. Ask for written confirmation before you start and read the indemnity clause in the subcontract before you sign.
Who pays for my own injury if the machine tips over?
Nobody, unless you have arranged it yourself. You are not an employee, so Article 7:658 of the Dutch Civil Code gives you no claim against an employer, and under your own liability cover you are not a third party. Only personal accident insurance, disability insurance or a comparable arrangement absorbs the loss of income and the permanent damage.
May the mini excavator stand on my drive at home?
It may, provided you declare it. The storage address and the security are acceptance questions. If you conceal that the machine stands in the street or on an open drive, you are up against the duty of disclosure in Article 7:928 of the Dutch Civil Code and the insurer can reduce payment in the event of theft. Also ask which locking or tracker is compulsory.
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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