Liability
- Damage to third parties
- Employers' liability
- Care, custody and control as an extension
Liability insurance for self-employed professionals
For a self-employed professional (zzp'er), liability insurance covers injury and damage to other people's property, and because a sole trader has no separate legal estate, any recovery beyond the policy runs straight through to your private assets.
- 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 · Deutsch
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.
- Independent advice
- Several insurers
- Switching arranged
- Help with claims
In brief
Liability itself follows from Article 6:162 of the Dutch Civil Code: anyone who unlawfully causes loss must compensate it. What sets a self-employed professional apart from a private limited company is not the risk but the recovery. A sole trader or a general partnership is not a legal entity, so there is no wall between business and private assets. A claim that exceeds the sum insured lands on your home, your savings and, if you are married in community of property, on your partner's assets.
That is why the sum insured is chosen on the basis of what can happen, not on what you turn over. Personal injury is calculated over the rest of the victim's life: loss of earning capacity, domestic help, adaptations to the home. That figure does not fall because you work alone. Clients know this and set a minimum sum insured per claim in their purchasing conditions; that requirement is contractual, because there is no statutory duty to insure as there is for motor vehicles.
Finally, pay attention to how cover is triggered. This insurance usually operates on the moment the loss occurs, whereas professional indemnity insurance is written on a claims made basis and looks at the date of notification. If you need both, you have two policies with two different timelines. The way the sections are built up is set out in our overview of public and employers' liability insurance.
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We compare your personal liability insurance (AVP) 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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What does liability insurance for the self-employed cover?
The structure of the cover in three parts, with an overview per situation below.
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
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.
What does your premium depend on?
- Your activities. The actual activities determine the risk class; construction, engineering and care weigh more heavily than office work.
- Annual turnover. Turnover is the basis of calculation with almost every insurer and is adjusted after the end of the year.
- Sum insured. The sum per claim and the maximum per insurance year are two separate choices and both count.
- Working at third-party sites. Anyone working at clients' premises or on building sites needs cover for property in their care. That is a separate extension with its own limit.
- Working area. The Netherlands, Europe or worldwide; work in the United States and Canada is almost always excluded.
- Excess and claims history. A higher excess per claim reduces the premium; earlier notifications weigh heavily in underwriting.
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.
Your private assets are in the queue as well
With a sole trader or a general partnership there is no separation between business and private assets. If a balance remains after the policy has paid out, the injured party recovers it from your possessions, and if you are married in community of property, from what belongs to your partner as well. A private limited company does create that separation, but it does not remove the director's personal liability. So choose the sum insured on the scenario, not on your annual figures.
You are not an employee yourself
The duty of care of Article 7:658 of the Dutch Civil Code protects employees. If you fall off a ladder at a client's premises, there is no employer you can hold liable and this policy pays nothing: it covers damage to others, not to yourself. Only someone who in fact works under the client's authority in the client's business can sometimes rely on paragraph 4 of that article. Do not count on it; personal accident or disability cover is the answer.
Care, custody and control is the exclusion that bites most often
Damage to property in your care is excluded as standard. That hits precisely what a self-employed professional does every day: the machine you are repairing, the floor you are sanding, the hired cherry picker, the tools you borrow, the client's van. Separate cover for property in your care does exist, usually with a lower limit and an excess for each event. State exactly what will be in your care when you apply.
What else falls outside this
Not covered are pure financial loss without damaged property, loss caused by a motor vehicle because the compulsory cover under Article 2 of the Dutch Motor Insurance Liability Act (WAM) applies to that, the cost of redelivering or repairing your own performance, fines and contractual penalties, and intent or wilful recklessness under Article 7:952 of the Dutch Civil Code. Liability you take on by contract beyond what the law requires also remains at your expense.
Frequently asked questions
This is what people ask us most.
As a self-employed professional, am I required to have liability insurance?
Not in law. Unlike motor vehicles, where Article 2 of the Dutch Motor Insurance Liability Act (WAM) imposes a duty to insure, there is no general obligation. In reality the requirement comes from the contract: clients, main contractors and agencies set a minimum sum insured per claim in their conditions and ask in advance for a copy of your policy schedule.
Does this policy also cover a mistake in my advice or calculations?
No. This insurance covers injury and damage to property. If your client loses money through a calculation error, poor advice or a missed deadline without anything being damaged, that is pure financial loss and it falls under professional indemnity insurance (BAV). Anyone who both carries out work and advises needs both covers.
I am hiring a cherry picker. Is damage to it covered?
Not automatically. A hired machine is in your care, and care, custody and control is excluded as standard. The hire company will still hold you responsible, because that is what the hire agreement says. Separate cover for property in your care, or tenant's interest cover, solves this, with its own limit and an excess for each event. Arrange it before the hire period starts.
My client wants me to indemnify him. Can that be insured?
Only in so far as you take on no more than the law already imposes on you. An insurer covers your liability in law; anything you accept contractually on top of that remains uninsured. So have such clauses read before you sign. Negotiating the wording is often cheaper than carrying the risk yourself.
Every situation is different. For these situations we have a separate page.
- Compare personal liability insurance (AVP)The main page
- Liability for small businessesSum insured, care, custody and control, staff
- Types of business liability insuranceAVB, BAV, directors, cyber
- Misconceptions about liability insuranceCare, custody and control, staff, your own losses
- Liability for education specialistsAdvice, implementation, scope
- Liability for occupational health servicesMedical data, advice, the Gatekeeper Act
- Liability for charitiesVolunteers, board, donations
- Liability for weldersFire-hazardous work, checks afterwards, certificates
- Liability insurance for secretarial servicesTime limits, correspondence, confidentiality
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. Last updated on .
The information on this page is general in nature and is not personal advice.