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 structural modification has to be inspected or notified. If that does not happen, your customer is driving a vehicle that differs from the details on which their insurer accepted the risk. In the event of a claim that insurer can fall back on the duty of disclosure under Article 7:928 of the Dutch Civil Code and on the sanction of Article 7:930 DCC. Your customer then comes back to you, because you are the professional who should have known.
With power and braking modifications an error goes straight to road safety. More torque on an unmodified driveline, a braking system that has not been uprated to match the extra power, or a lowering that upsets the geometry: the consequence occurs outside your workshop. That amounts to a wrongful act within the meaning of Article 6:162 of the Dutch Civil Code.
The third point is evidence. Software tuning leaves few visible traces and can be reversed. Record for each vehicle what you changed, what warning you gave and what the customer signed for. See also the wider structure of the garage insurance and the SME insurance package.
What does motor trade insurance cover for tuning businesses?
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.
Your duty to inform about approval and insurance
As a professional you know which modifications require inspection and which affect your customer's cover; they do not. If you leave that unsaid and an accident follows in which their insurer refuses cover, the dispute lands with you. Set out the consequences for approval, registration and insurance in writing in your quotation and have the customer sign for it before you start.
More power than the rest of the car can take
An increase in power puts more load on the clutch, gearbox, driveshafts, cooling and brakes than they were designed for. If one of those parts then fails, the question is whether you should have warned or should have refused. The part you supplied or worked on yourself falls outside the liability cover as the item worked on; the consequential damage to the rest of the vehicle and to third parties does not, in principle.
Software tuning is hard to prove
A modified engine management map cannot be seen and can be reset, including by the customer. In a dispute about the cause of engine damage you are empty-handed without records. Keep the original software, log which version was written when and which values were changed. The cost of returning the car to factory condition is not an insured loss but putting your own supply right.
Competitions and circuit use fall outside
If you test a modified vehicle on a circuit or take part in a track event, that falls under the exclusion for speed trials and competitions on virtually every policy. On the public road too, a test drive in a modified vehicle is subject to the compulsory cover of Article 2 WAM. Arrange test drives on a trade plate and record who is driving.
What does your premium depend on?
Nature of the modifications. Cosmetic work weighs less heavily than work on power, brakes or suspension.
Share of software tuning. Modifying engine management carries a higher risk of engine damage and of disputes about evidence.
Handling of inspections. Whether you handle the inspection process for structural modifications yourself or leave it to the customer.
Test drive and circuit policy. Test drives on the road, on a trade plate, or the use of a track.
Care, custody and control limit for vehicles being worked on. Projects sometimes stay open for months, so the value in your building builds up.
Turnover and payroll. Turnover from parts, labour and software plus the number of mechanics form the basis.
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.
Am I liable if the customer does not declare the modification?
That depends on what you told them. You are the professional and are expected to know which modifications require inspection and which affect the customer's cover. If you notified them in writing and had it signed off, the failure is theirs. Without those records, your position in a claim is weak.
Is damage to the part I modified covered?
No. Damage to the item you supplied or worked on is excluded on liability policies. If the engine seizes after an increase in power, rebuilding the modified parts falls outside the cover. Damage to other parts of the vehicle or to third parties may qualify for payment.
Does my policy cover a test on a circuit?
As a rule, no. Speed trials, competitions and track events are a standard exclusion, even where the purpose is only to set the car up. If you want to test modified vehicles on a track, discuss it beforehand; some insurers accept it on additional conditions, others do not. Without an agreement in advance you bear the loss yourself.
What must I record in writing?
Which parts have been changed, which software version was written, whether the modification requires inspection and what consequences that has for the customer's registration and insurance. Keep the original software and the customer's signed acknowledgement as well. In a dispute, these documents determine whether responsibility lies with you or with them.
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.
