Basic cover
- Debt collection on unpaid invoices
- Contract & delivery disputes
- Legal advice
- Disputes with suppliers
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.
- 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
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.
- Independent advice
- Several insurers
- Switching arranged
- Help with claims
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.
Independent, personal, sorted quickly
We compare your legal expenses 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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Through Finass or direct with De Goudse?
The structure of the cover in three parts, with an overview per situation below.
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.
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.
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
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
Frequently asked questions
This is what people ask us most.
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.
Every situation is different. For these situations we have a separate page.
Read more
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Ready to compare?
Request a quote without obligation. We will look at which insurer best matches your activities and your risk.
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.