Company trailer · tools · changing drivers
Business trailer insurance through De Goudse
A company trailer stands in the street at night, on a building site or outside a customer's door. That determines the premium, and above all it determines what the policy demands of you.
- Several insurers compared objectively
- 9.5 customer rating for a new policy
- AFM licence 12016589
- Personal 072 - 509 24 56, weekdays 9–17
Deze pagina in het Nederlands: Zakelijke aanhangwagenverzekering via De Goudse.
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
- We arrange the switch, including cancellation
A premium indication, not personal advice. Prefer to talk it through? Call 072 - 509 24 56.
In brief
For liability, the same applies as with private use: as long as the trailer is coupled to the towing vehicle, third-party liability cover runs with that vehicle on the basis of the insurance requirement in Article 2 of the Dutch Motor Insurance Liability Act (WAM). The business question lies elsewhere: in the own-damage cover of a trailer that moves from site to site every day, and in what is inside it.
That last point is the most common misconception. A closed company trailer full of machines, cable drums and hand tools is an attractive target, but trailer insurance covers only the trailer, not the contents. For the tools you need separate cover; see tools insurance or, for higher values, the business contents insurance. Almost all of those policies exclude theft from vehicles between certain night-time hours, unless the vehicle is in a a locked space states.
Damage you cause to someone else with the trailer away from the traffic — against a wall while manoeuvring on a customer's site, or to a floor while unloading: is liability and belongs on the public and employers' liability insurance. The general structure of this cover is set out on the page on business trailer insurance.
This page deals with one situation. The full overview is on Compare trailer insurance.
What to look out for
Four points that, with business use, make the difference between a payment and a rejection.
The storage clause
With business use there is almost always a night clause on the clauses page: outside working hours in a locked warehouse, on a fenced site or secured with an approved coupling lock. If the trailer happens to be standing in the street outside an engineer's house that night, that is a departure from the policy condition and the theft claim may be rejected.
Changing and hired-in drivers
A company trailer is not towed by one regular driver. Check whether the policy contains an age or licence clause and whether hired-in workers are covered. Driving without a valid entitlement, or with a combined weight above the permitted limit, is excluded, and the third-party liability insurer can then recover the payment from the driver or from you.
Lending and hiring out to others
If you lend a trailer to a subcontractor or hire it out, the risk changes and on an ordinary policy that is often excluded. If the trailer is damaged while it is in your care but is not your property, the care, custody and control exclusion on your liability insurance comes into play as well.
Overloading and improper securing
Damage arising because the trailer is loaded above the maximum permitted mass, or because the load was not secured, is regularly treated as significant fault (merkelijke schuld). Article 7:952 of the Dutch Civil Code excludes damage caused by intent or recklessness. A trailer that is routinely overloaded comes close to that. Put your weighing and securing instructions in writing.
What does your premium depend on?
- Number and value of the trailers: from a few objects onwards, often a single contract
- Type of body: open flatbed, closed body or refrigerated trailer
- Storage outside working hours: a locked site or warehouse reduces the premium
- Security: hitch lock, wheel clamp or tracker
- Working area and deployment: fixed routes count differently from changing building sites
- Claims record of the fleet: the claims of recent years are taken into account
Insurers weigh these details differently. That is where your saving is.
What is covered
| Situation | Basic | Extended |
|---|---|---|
| A storm drops a branch on the open flatbed | Yes | Yes |
| The trailer disappears from the fenced business site despite the coupling lock | Yes | Yes |
| Reversing on a building site puts a substantial dent in the side wall | No | Yes |
| The tools that were in the closed body have gone as well after the theft | No | No |
| An uncoupled trailer rolls away and hits your client's wall | No | No |
| The brakes turn out to be worn and fail halfway through a journey | No | No |
This policy insures the trailer itself. The load in it and the damage you cause to others with it run along a different route.
Frequently asked questions
This is what people ask us most.
Are the tools in my trailer covered as well?
No. Trailer insurance covers the object itself, not the contents. Tools and machines are insured under tools or business contents cover. Watch the night-time clause there: many policies only cover theft from a vehicle if it was in a locked space, and a lower sum insured sometimes applies to items left in the vehicle.
Do I have to insure every trailer separately?
With a handful of objects a collective contract can be practical: one policy, one renewal date and objects added and removed individually. The sums insured continue to apply per trailer. What matters is that the schedule stays up to date. An object that has not been declared is not insured, not even if it stands on the same site as the rest.
Who pays for the damage if my trailer comes loose on the motorway?
As long as the trailer has not yet come to a standstill away from the traffic, the WAM treats it as part of the towing vehicle and damage to third parties runs through the third-party liability cover of that vehicle. Damage to the trailer itself falls under your own-damage cover. If the coupling turns out to have failed through deferred maintenance, the insurer may treat that as an inherent defect.
What if an employee is injured while loading?
That is employer's liability. Article 7:658 of the Dutch Civil Code imposes a duty of care on you for a safe workplace and safe equipment, including on site and including for hired-in staff. That claim does not run through the trailer policy but through the employer's liability section of your public and employers' liability insurance (AVB). Keep records of instructions and of inspections of tail lifts and lashing straps.
Read more
Within Aanhangwagenverzekering
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