Professional indemnity insurance (BAV) through De Goudse
With a BAV it is not the size of the sum insured but the description of your capacity that determines whether a claim falls within the policy.
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Work out for yourself what it would cost.
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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
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
Finass acts as an intermediary for the business range of De Goudse, which we regularly use for SME service providers and self-employed advisers. We compare that policy with those of more than thirty other companies and we are not tied to any one insurer. Professional indemnity insurance covers pure financial loss: financial detriment suffered by your client through a professional error, without anything being damaged or anyone being injured. The main points are set out on the hub page on the BAV.
The first thing looked up when a claim arises is the business activity on the policy schedule. That description marks out what you are insured for. An adviser who also takes on interim management, secondment, brokerage or a software product falls outside the cover for that part of his work if it is not stated. If your range of services grows, report it; the duty of disclosure in Article 7:928 of the Dutch Civil Code and the consequences in Article 7:930 of the Dutch Civil Code applies to changes as well.
The second point is the group of insured persons. If employees, trainees or self-employed people hired in work under your name, they must be designated as insured persons, otherwise you face a claim against someone who does not appear on the policy. For injury and property damage you also need a public and employers' liability insurance; claims against you as a director belong on a directors' and officers' liability insurance.
This page deals with one situation. The full overview is on Compare professional indemnity insurance (BAV).
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We compare your professional indemnity insurance (BAV) 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.
Professional indemnity insurance (BAV)
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Get coveredWhy 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.
What to look out for
Four provisions that make the difference on a BAV more often than the sum insured does.
Your general terms and conditions must be in order
A limitation of liability only works if the terms were handed over before or at the time the contract was concluded; Article 6:233(b) and Article 6:234 of the Dutch Civil Code are the yardstick here. A reference that only appears on the invoice comes too late for that. When a claim arises, insurers look at whether you protected your own position, and a clause that has been set aside increases the loss they have to meet.
Defence costs within or on top of the sum insured
In advisory matters a large part of the money goes on legal assistance, even where the claim is ultimately rejected. If those costs count within the sum insured, less is left for the loss itself. Ask expressly whether defence costs are paid on top of the sum insured; in a long-running dispute that difference is considerable.
Claims made with retroactive and run-off cover
What matters is the moment the claim is made and notified, not the moment of the mistake. Without retroactive cover, mistakes from before the start date remain uninsured; without run-off cover you stand alone for claims that come in after termination. Arrange run-off cover before you cancel or stop.
What falls outside the cover
Excluded are intent and wilful recklessness (Article 7:952 of the Dutch Civil Code), fines and penalty payments, repayment of your fee and the costs of redoing your own work, and liability arising from guarantees or promises as to results that go beyond the professional standard. Circumstances you already knew about at the start are not insurable either.
What does your premium depend on?
- Annual turnover: the usual basis in service provision
- Described business activity: the wider it is, the higher the premium
- Number of insured persons: including self-employed contractors you hire in
- Sum insured: per claim and capped per year
- Retroactive date: the further back the retroactive date, the more expensive
- Area of cover: assignments outside Europe weigh more heavily
Insurers weigh these details differently. That is where your saving is.
What is covered
| Situation | AVB | BAV |
|---|---|---|
| You miscalculate a structure and the client has to have the work altered | No | Yes |
| You miss an objection deadline and your customer loses a subsidy as a result | No | Yes |
| During an advisory meeting you knock your coffee over your customer's laptop | Yes | No |
| A trainee sends a customer file to the wrong email address | No | Provided that |
| The client demands the return of your fee because he considers the report substandard | No | No |
| You had promised a saving that you do not achieve and the customer claims the difference | No | No |
The BAV pays for the detriment your mistake causes the customer, not the price or the result you promised yourself.
Frequently asked questions
This is what people ask us most.
When is there a professional error?
When you have not acted as a reasonably competent and reasonably acting professional would in the same circumstances. That standard follows from the duty of care in Article 7:401 of the Dutch Civil Code. A disappointing result is not in itself an error, and a client who supplied incomplete information carries part of it. What matters is the way you reached your advice and whether you gave warning in good time.
Does the BAV also cover a data breach at my customer?
In part. If the loss arises from a professional error, for example advice that overlooked a security risk, the BAV can come into play. The costs of investigation, remediation, notification and business interruption after an incident at your own end belong on a cyber insurance. Fines from a regulator are excluded on both policies.
My client is threatening a claim but has not yet made one. What do I do?
Report the circumstance to the insurer at once. Under a claims-made policy such a notification fixes the policy year, even if the claim only follows years later. The duty to notify in Article 7:941 of the Dutch Civil Code starts at the moment you can reasonably be aware of the loss. Do not admit liability, make no offer of payment and have correspondence go past the insurer first.
Can I have AVB and BAV on one policy?
Several companies allow that, in the form of a package with two sections. The advantage is that no argument arises about which insurer handles a mixed claim. Do note that the sums insured apply per section and that the claims-made basis of the BAV remains, while the AVB usually runs on an occurrence basis.
Every situation is different. For these situations we have a separate page.
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