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9,5/ Reviews

Cyber insurance for estate agents

An estate agency does not hold the purchase price itself, but it does sit in the email exchange in which the account number for that purchase price goes round.

  • several insurers compared objectively
  • 9.5 customer rating for a new policy
  • AFM licence 12016589
  • Personal 072 - 509 24 56, weekdays 9–17

This page in another language: Nederlands

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  • We compare the offerings of several insurers
  • An adviser checks whether the cover suits your activities
  • We arrange the switch, including cancellation

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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

An estate agent's file is unusually complete for a fraudster: under the Wwft (the Dutch anti-money laundering act) it holds identity documents and questions about the source of funds, alongside financial details, valuation data, addresses and the planning of the handover of keys. That is enough to write a convincing email to a buyer who has just arranged his finance.

The money runs through the notary's client account, but the email chain runs through you. If your mailbox is being read, the message with a changed account number is sent at exactly the right moment, in your house style and with the correct file details. The loss then falls on the client and the question becomes whether you observed the standard of care in Article 6:162 of the Dutch Civil Code.

If you work with a notary's office or a mortgage adviser, the weakest link is usually the party least well set up against being read.

Independent, personal, sorted quickly

We compare your cyber insurance across dozens of insurers, explain where the real differences lie, and arrange the switch from start to finish — without you having to chase it yourself.

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What does cyber insurance for estate agents cover?

The structure of the cover in three parts, with an overview per situation below.

Immediate help

Incident response

Specialists who look into it within hours.

  • 24/7 reporting line
  • Forensic investigation
  • Recovery and restart
Your business

Own damage

What the incident costs you yourself.

  • Data recovery and reconstruction
  • Business downtime
  • Ransom under consideration
Towards third parties

Liability

Claims from customers and data subjects.

  • Claims after a data breach
  • GDPR notification costs
  • Legal assistance

What is covered

SituationCyberAVBBAV
Ransomware brings your systems downYesNoNo
Data breach involving personal dataYesNoSometimes
Costs of notification and informing those affectedYesNoNo
Fraud through a falsified payment instructionSometimesNoNo
Administrative fine from the regulatorNoNoNo
Hardware that is physically damagedNoNoNo

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?

  • Number of transactions per year. The number of moments at which payment instructions and identity documents pass through your mailbox determines the exposure.
  • Size of your Wwft archive. How many identity documents and client due diligence records you keep, and for how long, weighs more heavily than the number of staff.
  • Security of your email. Two-factor authentication on the email environment and checks on forwarding rules are the most important measure here.
  • Whether or not payment fraud is covered. Including financial loss after a forged payment instruction is a separate section that is rated more heavily.
  • Number of premises and home workplaces. More places from which the estate agency package is reached means more points of access to secure.
  • Dependence on your estate agency software. During an outage can you still show properties and view files, or does office production stop straight away?

Insurers weigh these details differently. That is where your saving is.

How we arrange it

  1. You request a quoteWe take stock of your situation, your risk and your wishes.
  2. We compareseveral insurers, on premium as well as conditions.
  3. You receive a proposalWith an explanation of the differences and the exclusions.
  4. We arrange the switchIncluding cancellation, so there is no gap in cover.

Request a quote

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.

View the reviews at NH1816 · all reviews on our site

Where things go wrong in practice

Four points that make the difference between a policy that pays out and one that does not.

Wwft documents make a breach more serious than an address list

You keep copies of identity documents and records of client due diligence because the Wwft requires it. It is precisely that combination of passport details, marital status and financial position that makes a breach suitable for identity fraud, and with it the chance of claims from those concerned very real. So limit who in the office can reach that folder and delete what you no longer need to keep. Administrative fines and penalty payments imposed by regulators are not insurable; claims from those who suffer loss generally are.

Never verify a changed account number by email

In transaction fraud your system is not broken. Your correspondence is imitated. The counter-measure is procedural: confirm account numbers only by telephone on a number you already had, and warn buyers in writing at the outset that you never pass on a different number by email. Note that most cyber policies do not reimburse the sum transferred itself. Financial loss through deception is a separate cover that you have to include expressly.

Your files sit with a supplier, your obligation stays with you

Almost every office works in an estate agency package with links to property portals and exchange systems. If that package is down, you cannot arrange a viewing or open a file, but the fault lies with someone else. So check whether your policy includes an outage at a service provider and what waiting period applies to it; below that waiting period nothing is paid. Towards your client you remain the controller yourself, even if the breach arose at that supplier.

Keep the professional error separate from the security incident

If a client complains that you conducted a bidding process incorrectly or failed to disclose a defect, that is a professional error and not a cyber loss. The cyber policy starts with a security incident: email read by others, ransomware, a breach. The two policies exclude each other's territory, so a claim that falls between them almost always arises from a gap where they meet. Your own intent or wilful recklessness also stays outside the cover under Article 7:952 DCC.

Frequently asked questions

This is what people ask us most.

A buyer transferred the purchase price to a false account number taken from my email. Is that covered?

The investigation, recovery and legal costs on your side generally fall under the policy, as does the claim the buyer brings against you. The amount transferred itself falls under the cover only if you have included financial loss through deception; as standard that is almost never the case. Ask about it expressly when getting a quote, because for estate agents this is the most expensive scenario.

I work entirely in the cloud. Do I still need cyber insurance?

Yes. Cloud software moves the risk. It does not remove it. One stolen password is enough for an attacker to reach your files and mailbox, and if your supplier has an outage your office is at a standstill with nothing you can do about it. What shifts is the emphasis: less data recovery on your own servers, more attention to access management and to the waiting period for supplier outages.

Are regulatory fines covered?

Administrative fines of a punitive nature, for example for inadequate client due diligence or a GDPR breach, are not insurable in the Netherlands. What is covered are the costs of making the report, informing those concerned, legal assistance during an investigation, and the claims for compensation that those affected bring against you. Where identity data is involved, the last of these is often the largest part of the bill.

What does the insurer expect from my office as a minimum?

Usually two-factor authentication on email and on the estate agency package, up-to-date patching, and back-ups that you have tested and that cannot be deleted from the same account. If you state those measures in the application, they are disclosures within the meaning of Article 7:928 DCC. If they are missing when a loss occurs, the insurer can reduce the payout under Article 7:930 DCC.

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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.