De Goudse · compared independently · advice from Finass
Business legal expenses insurance (rechtsbijstandverzekering) through De Goudse
For business owners with their own or rented business premises, the centre of gravity of legal expenses cover lies with the premises themselves: the lease, the permit and the neighbours.
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 premises and surroundings module is a different world from debt collection or employment law. Here you face a landlord, a local authority or a neighbouring business, and the subject is a rent review, defects in the premises, a refused permit or enforcement by the environmental agency. Proceedings take a long time and are often administrative in nature.
As the owner you also carry the strict liability of Article 6:174 of the Dutch Civil Code: if someone is injured through a defect in the building, you are liable without fault having to be established. That is not legal expenses but liability. In a premises matter the two policies often come into play at the same time.
With De Goudse we check whether the premises are on the policy with their address, whether let parts are included and whether administrative law proceedings are covered. Compare this with the Allianz structure on this same point.
The structure of the cover in three parts, with an overview per situation below.
Basic cover
The basic cover insures the essentials. We show what De Goudse and other insurers offer here.
Debt collection on unpaid invoices
Contract & delivery disputes
Legal advice
Disputes with suppliers
Extended cover
As well as debt collection and contracts, also employment law, disputes about your business premises and disputes with public authorities.
Employment law & staff
Business premises (rented or owned)
Public authorities & permits
Recovery of traffic damage
Complete package
The most complete cover. We compare De Goudse's extended versions with the market.
Free choice of lawyer in legal proceedings
Tax law & tax disputes
Administrative law
Higher allowance for external costs
What is covered
Situation
Basic module
With extension
Dispute with a client about work delivered
Yes
Yes
Collection of an unpaid invoice
Provided that
Yes
Employment dispute with an employee
No
Yes
Dispute with the landlord of your business premises
No
Yes
Tax dispute with the Belastingdienst (the Dutch tax authority)
No
Provided that
A dispute that was already running before the start date
No
No
Business legal expenses insurance has a waiting period and a threshold: a case is not taken on below a certain financial interest. Employment law, tenancy law and tax law are usually in separate modules. In legal proceedings you have a free choice of lawyer. A dispute whose cause already existed when the policy was taken out is excluded.
What we do
What we do
At Finass
Direct with De Goudse
Comparison across several insurers
Yes
No
Advice based on your own situation
Yes
Sometimes
One point of contact for claims
Yes
Sometimes
Cancellation with your current insurer arranged
Yes
No
We determine whether De Goudse is the best choice
Yes
No
Advice fees for you as a customer
No
No
This overview concerns our service, not the cover. What is actually covered is set out in the policy conditions and on the insurer's insurance card (verzekeringskaart); you receive both before you take out cover.
Where things go wrong in practice
Four points that make the difference between a policy that pays out and one that does not.
The premises have to be on the policy
Legal expenses insurers cover property disputes only for premises declared with their address and use. If you buy a second location or start letting part of it, that is a change you have to report. If you do not, the duty of disclosure in Article 7:928 of the Dutch Civil Code and the consequences set out in Article 7:930 of the Dutch Civil Code.
Tenancy disputes run for years
For business premises there is statutory protection of the term and a procedure for rent review in which an expert has to be appointed. Processes like that take time, and experts' costs count towards the maximum for external costs. So do not look only at whether tenancy law is included, but at the amount the insurer makes available outside its own in-house service.
Permits, enforcement and the environmental agency
A refused environmental permit, an order subject to a penalty for noise or storage, a change to the environmental plan: these are decisions against which objection and appeal are open within short deadlines. Anyone who lets that deadline pass no longer has a case. So report a decision to the insurer immediately. The administrative law section of the policy is not standard with every provider.
What falls outside the cover in property matters
Most conditions exclude disputes about buying or selling property, project development and investment premises. The cover is meant for the premises in which you run your business. Conflicts that were already running when the policy was taken out, fines and penalty payments themselves, and the defence against a liability claim under Article 6:174 of the Dutch Civil Code also belong elsewhere.
Retroactive cover (prior risk)
Retroactive cover (prior risk) Included for your staff during work.
Defence & legal costs
What does your premium depend on?
Ownership or rental of the premises. An owner conducts different proceedings from a tenant and also carries the occupier's liability of Article 6:174 DCC.
Number and use of locations. Every property must be declared with its address and use. More locations means more risk of disputes.
Letting business space to third parties. If you let part of it, tenancy law as a landlord is added and that is not included as standard.
Activities requiring a permit. Storage, noise, catering or processes with an environmental impact increase the chance of enforcement and administrative proceedings.
Cover for administrative law. Objection and appeal against decisions of the local authority or environmental agency is in one policy and not in another.
Maximum external costs. In rent reviews and building disputes, experts' costs are a large part of the bill.
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.
I have a dispute with my landlord about outstanding maintenance. Covered?
If the premises module is included and the address is on the policy, this is a typical covered dispute. The insurer first assesses whether there is a defect within the meaning of the lease and whether you gave the landlord written notice of default. Without that notice almost every tenancy file starts at a disadvantage.
The local authority imposes a penalty payment. Does the policy pay it?
No. Fines, penalty payments and administrative sanctions are never insurable. That would undermine the purpose of the sanction. What can be covered is the legal assistance with an objection and appeal against the decision, provided your policy includes administrative law. The deadline for that is short, so report the decision in the same week.
I am buying business premises and the seller conceals a defect. Does the policy help?
Usually not. Disputes arising from the purchase or sale of property are on the list of exclusions in almost all conditions, however justified your complaint. The cover is meant for the use of the premises, not for the transaction. So have the purchase guided legally in advance.
A visitor trips over a loose paving stone by my premises. Which policy?
That is liability, not legal expenses. As the occupier of the structure you are liable under Article 6:174 of the Dutch Civil Code for loss caused by a defect, even without fault. Your public and employers' liability insurance (AVB) conducts the defence and pays the loss. The legal expenses policy only comes into play if you approach someone yourself, for instance the contractor who did the paving.
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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