Insurance for engineering, manufacturing and construction
Many businesses do these three things at once: make something, install it somewhere and then maintain it: and it is precisely at the transition between those phases that the cover falls away.
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
A liability claim is assessed not on what you are, but on which phase the work had reached. For as long as you are working, there are works in progress and the loss belongs on a Construction all risks (CAR) or erection insurance. If the work has been completed and something goes wrong afterwards, it is a matter for liability insurance, and then only if the completed work section is included. If you supplied a product instead of carrying out work, the strict liability in Article 6:185 of the Dutch Civil Code applies.
That distinction is not theory. A weld that cracks during assembly, the same weld cracking two years after completion and a batch of ready-made brackets that fail are three different policies. Businesses with one public and employers' liability insurance usually assume all three are covered by it, and that is rarely so.
The key is therefore the description of activities on your policy. That determines what is covered. Anyone who has started installing as well, has begun producing for third parties or has taken on work abroad has to report it. An undeclared activity is a ground for refusal when you claim, and an incorrect declaration when taking out the policy runs into Article 7:928 of the Dutch Civil Code. So go through your activities every year.
What does insurance for engineering, manufacturing and construction cover?
The structure of the cover in three parts, with an overview per situation below.
The basics
Liability
AVB for property damage and injury, BAV for professional errors.
Damage to third parties
Employers' liability
Care, custody and control as an extension
Your business
Assets and continuity
Business contents, goods and lost turnover during downtime.
Business contents at replacement value as new
Goods at cost price
Business interruption or additional costs
If you employ people
Staff
Sickness absence, accidents and the traffic risk.
Continued pay for 104 weeks
Group personal accident
WEGAS for traffic risks
What is covered
Situation
AVB
BAV
Cyber
Injury to a visitor or customer
Yes
No
No
Damage to a client's property
Sometimes
No
No
Financial loss caused by an advisory or calculation error
No
Yes
No
Downtime after a ransomware attack
No
No
Yes
Data breach involving personal data
No
Sometimes
Yes
Damage to property in your care
No
No
No
This overview is general in nature and is not personal advice. What is actually covered, including exclusions, limits and the excess, is set out in the policy conditions and the insurance card (verzekeringskaart) of the insurer; you receive both before you take out cover. Taking out cover without advice? Then read what execution only means for you.
Where things go wrong in practice
Four points that make the difference between a policy that pays out and one that does not.
Putting your own work right is never covered
If an installation turns out to be wrongly connected, no liability policy pays for reconnecting it. What can be covered is the consequential loss: the water that damaged a floor because of the mistake, the production that stood still at your client as a result. The line runs between your performance and the damage beyond it. So build the cost of going back, dismantling and redoing into your business risk and not into a sum insured.
In assembly work you work on someone else's property
As soon as you work in an existing factory, machine or installation, you have your client's property in your care. That damage is excluded as standard and requires a care, custody and control clause. The same applies to the pipes, cables and equipment alongside your work area. Determine for each job what you touch and what is around it, and match the care, custody and control cover to that; without that extension a pipe drilled through is entirely for your account.
Calculating and advising is not carrying out work
If, alongside carrying out work, you also supply calculations, designs or engineering advice, loss arises that is not property damage: a structure that has to be redesigned, an installation that does not reach the capacity promised. That is pure financial loss and it falls outside public and employers' liability insurance. For that you need professional indemnity cover. Businesses taking on design and construct work need both policies.
Subcontracting does not move the liability
If you bring in a subcontractor, you remain the one your client turns to; Article 6:171 of the Dutch Civil Code attributes the mistakes of non-subordinates to you. So before work starts, ask for a proof of insurance and check that their sum insured matches your project. If they later rely on their own terms and conditions with a low limit, the difference stays with you, regardless of what you agreed with your own client.
What does your premium depend on?
Split across the three activities. Which share of turnover comes from manufacturing, from installation on site and from construction work drives the rate.
Annual turnover and payroll. Together the basis of calculation. In construction and installation the payroll of the operational staff weighs heaviest.
Completed work included. The section for damage after completion and the period chosen for it are a separate premium item.
Amount of care, custody and control cover. Working on existing installations calls for a limit matching the value of what you touch.
Working with naked flames or at height. Welding, cutting, roof work and working at height increase both the fire and the injury risk.
Territory and markets. Work or supply outside the Netherlands, and particularly in North America, calls for separate territorial cover.
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 manufacture and install. Is one policy enough for that?
Rarely. Damage during the work belongs on a CAR or erection policy, damage after completion on the completed work section of your liability insurance, and damage caused by a product supplied falls under Article 6:185 of the Dutch Civil Code. All three have to appear expressly on your policy. So report every activity you take on, because an undeclared activity is a ground for refusal when you claim.
Will putting my own mistake right be paid for?
No. The cost of going back, dismantling and redoing the work is your own performance and falls outside every liability cover. What can be covered is what that mistake caused to others: water damage to the building, damaged equipment belonging to the client, standstill of their production. The line lies at your own work; everything beyond it is consequential loss.
What happens if I hit a pipe in an existing building?
That is damage to property in your custody, and that category is excluded as standard. It is only covered with a care, custody and control clause of sufficient size. Determine for each job what you touch and what lies immediately around it, and match the limit to that. Also always ask for drawings or a survey before you drill or dig.
Am I liable for my subcontractor's mistake?
Towards your client, in general yes. Article 6:171 of the Dutch Civil Code attributes to you the mistakes of non-subordinates carrying out work in the course of your business. Recovery from the subcontractor is a second process that only starts afterwards. So check their evidence of insurance and sum insured in advance, and record which terms and conditions apply to the subcontract.
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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