Service van · contents · downtime
Insuring a van through De Goudse
The van itself is usually not the problem, because it can be replaced. The problem is what is inside it and what it costs if you are without it for a week.
- 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: Bestelauto verzekeren 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
Finass Advies acts as an intermediary for, among others, the business range of De Goudse, an insurer that focuses on small and medium-sized businesses. We are tied to no insurer at all and compare several insurers objectively; which policy you end up with follows from what cover you need, not from the name. The general set-up of this cover is explained on the hub page on van insurance, and for cars you should look at business car insurance.
For the van itself you choose a type of cover per registration. Liability cover is compulsory under Article 2 of the Dutch Motor Insurance Liability Act (WAM); own-damage cover is a trade-off between the residual value and what downtime costs you. The point that most often surprises installers, landscapers and service companies is that the motor policy insures only the vehicle and not the contents. Machines, measuring equipment, cable reels and hand tools in the back fall outside it and belong on a tools cover or, for higher values, on the business contents insurance.
The second point is downtime. A service van that spends two weeks at the repairer costs turnover. A replacement vehicle is rarely included as standard and certainly not in the same specification: an ordinary hire car without a fit-out will get your engineer to the customer, but not with his tools. Record which category of replacement vehicle you get and for how long. If the loss feeds further into your trading result, look at business interruption insurance.
This page deals with one situation. The full overview is on Compare van insurance.
What to look out for
Four provisions on which a van claim comes unstuck.
The overnight clause for theft
Almost every business van policy carries a parking condition: outside working hours in a locked shed or on a fenced site. If a member of staff takes the van home and it is parked on the street, you depart from the clause schedule and the theft claim can be refused. Agree this with your staff and put it in writing.
Bodywork, fitting-out and signwriting
A tail lift, a roof rack, a cooling unit, a racking wall and advertising lettering are not included in the list price. If you do not declare them separately, they fall under a low standard limit for accessories. In the event of a total loss the insurer then pays for the van without the thousands of euros of fitted equipment you put into it.
Damage during loading and unloading
If you run a sack truck into a customer's shopfront or something falls from the tail lift onto a parked car, that is not motor damage but liability. That claim belongs on the public and employers' liability insurance. The goods you carry yourself are not covered either. For that there is the own goods in transit insurance.
Reporting and cooperating after a loss
Article 7:941 of the Dutch Civil Code requires you to report a loss as soon as you are reasonably aware of it and to give all the information the insurer needs. In the event of theft, that includes reporting it to the police and handing in all the keys. A notification left for weeks costs the insurer evidence and can cost you the payout.
What does your premium depend on?
- List price and year of manufacture: determines whether comprehensive cover is still worthwhile
- Number of vans: from a certain number of vehicles, a fleet arrangement comes into view
- Drivers and their ages: changing drivers weigh more heavily than one regular driver
- Area of use and annual mileage: urban distribution produces more bodywork damage than long journeys
- Security and storage: the alarm class and where the van is parked overnight
- Excess: a higher excess noticeably reduces the premium on own-damage cover
Insurers weigh these details differently. That is where your saving is.
What is covered
| Situation | Third-party liability | Comprehensive |
|---|---|---|
| You run into the back of a taxi in town and it is damaged at the rear | Yes | Yes |
| Your engineer misjudges the clearance and the roof of the van is damaged | No | Yes |
| A runaway trolley dents the side of the parked van | No | Yes |
| There is a break-in and the sliding door of the load space has been forced | No | Provided that |
| In that collision the tools in the back are damaged as well | No | No |
| The clutch is worn out and the van is at the garage for a week | No | No |
The motor policy insures the vehicle. What is inside it and what the downtime costs you each require their own cover.
Frequently asked questions
This is what people ask us most.
Are my tools in the van covered?
No. Van insurance covers the vehicle, including permanently fitted parts you have declared, but not the loose contents. For tools, machines and equipment you take out separate cover. There too, an overnight exclusion almost always applies for theft from a vehicle not kept in a locked space, so read that clause before you leave the van outside.
Can De Goudse put my vans and my liability cover in one package?
Bundling business policies with one insurer saves administration and sometimes produces a package discount. The price of that lies in the conditions: on one or two elements you then come off worse than with a specialist provider. We therefore quote both the package and the separate covers, so that you can see what combining them really costs you.
What happens if an employee drives without a valid driving licence?
The injured third party is always compensated under the WAM, but the insurer can recover that payment from you or from the driver. The own damage to your own van is not covered in that case. So check the validity of your drivers' licences periodically and record that check.
What if my employee is injured in the van?
The vehicle's liability cover is there for injured third parties and pays nothing to the driver who caused the accident himself. Your member of staff can then hold you liable under Article 7:611 and Article 7:658 of the Dutch Civil Code. There is a separate employer's cover for road use. You can read about the difference between the variants under WEGAS and WEGAM.
Read more
Within Bestelautoverzekering
Similar pages
- Business van insurance through Allianz
- Business van insurance by make and model
- Business van insurance through Klaverblad
- Van insurance through NH1816 — compare & calculate your premium
- Van insurance through ASR — compare & calculate your premium
- Business van insurance through a.s.r.
- Van insurance through Avéro Achmea
- Fleet insurance through Allianz