Assessment of the claim
- Fact-finding and analysis of the file
- Testing against the standard in Article 7:401 DCC
- Engaging an expert
- Advice on your position
How professional indemnity insurance (BAV) protects your business
The value of professional indemnity insurance does not lie only in the payment. Most of the protection lies in what happens between the letter of claim and the settlement.
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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
Professional indemnity insurance (BAV) covers the pure financial loss a client suffers through a mistake in your service: an incorrect calculation, a missed deadline, advice that is wrong. Nothing is broken and no one is injured; money simply disappears. Liability is assessed against Article 7:401 of the Dutch Civil Code, the care of a good contractor, and in an engagement it usually runs through the failure to perform under Article 6:74 of the Dutch Civil Code.
The protection works in three steps. The insurer first assesses whether you really are liable, because a large proportion of claims are too high or unfounded. It then conducts the defence and pays the costs of lawyers and experts. Only once liability is established does payment or a settlement follow, within the sum insured. In practice those first two steps are often worth more than the payment itself.
What the BAV does not do is cover your physical risk. Damage to people and property — A visitor who falls, equipment you damage, injury to staff under the duty of care in Article 7:658 of the Dutch Civil Code: belongs on a public and employers' liability insurance. The two policies cover each other's gap; they are not substitutes.
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What does the protection consist of?
The policy delivers three things: an assessment of the claim, a defence at the insurer's expense and payment of the loss.
Defence and legal costs
Rejecting or negotiating, with the costs borne by the insurer.
- Legal assistance
- Negotiating a settlement
- Litigating where necessary
- Including where the claim is unfounded
Payment of the loss
Payment within the sum insured, after deduction of the excess.
- Per claim and per policy year
- Excess per claim
- Including on a settlement
- Fines stay outside
What is covered
| Situation | Basic | Extended |
|---|---|---|
| Defence against an unfounded claim | Yes | Yes |
| Financial loss caused by a mistake in your advice | Yes | Yes |
| A claim about work carried out before the start date | No | Provided that |
| A claim that comes in after the policy has ended | No | Provided that |
| Injury or damaged property | No | No |
| A contractual penalty under a contract for services | No | No |
Which activities are covered and which limits, excesses and exclusions apply is set out in the policy conditions and on the insurance card (verzekeringskaart) that you receive before you take out the policy.
What does your premium depend on?
- Turnover: the usual basis for calculation
- Profession and activities: advice and design carry more weight
- Sum insured: per claim and per year
- Excess: higher excess, lower premium
- Retroactive date: how far back you want the cover to reach
- Claims history: previous claims and notifications
Insurers weigh these details differently. That is where your saving is.
How we arrange it
- You request a quoteWe take stock of your situation, risk 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 determine whether the protection actually works at the moment you need it.
Notify before you respond
The first reflex after an angry email is to explain, put things right or offer a discount. That is exactly what you should not do. Article 7:941 of the Dutch Civil Code requires you to report the event as soon as you are reasonably aware of it, and most policies prohibit admitting liability or making promises without consent. If you do so anyway, the insurer can reduce the payment. So notify first, and from that moment have your contact with the client co-ordinated.
Claims made determines whether you fall within the cover at all
A BAV almost always runs on a claims-made basisbasis: the moment the claim is made governs, not the moment of the mistake. That creates two gaps. Work from before the start date is only covered with retroactive cover, and claims after the end date only with run-off cover. When switching to another insurer, arranging retroactive cover that joins up is the most important point of the discussion.
What the policy does not pay
Outside the cover are, among other things: the redoing your own work and repaying or waiving your fee, fines, penalty payments and contractual penalty clauses, injury and property damage which belongs on the AVB, and damage caused by intent or wilful recklessness under Article 7:952 of the Dutch Civil Code. Also guarantees and undertakings that go beyond what the law imposes on you, and circumstances you already knew about when you took out the policy, are not paid.
Your file is your defence
In a professional indemnity case it is rarely about whether there is a loss, but about whether you acted as a reasonably competent professional would. You show that with confirmations of instructions, notes of meetings, reservations you made and the warnings you gave in writing. Anyone who records their reasoning wins arguments that would otherwise come down to one memory against another.
Frequently asked questions
This is what people ask us most.
What happens immediately after a letter of claim?
You report the matter to the insurer and send the file with it: the engagement, the correspondence and the other party's letter. The insurer assesses whether you are liable and then takes over or directs the contact. Responding on the substance yourself or proposing a settlement at that point is unwise and can limit your cover.
Does the insurer pay even if the claim is unfounded?
Yes. Fending off unfounded or excessive claims is a core part of the cover. The costs of legal assistance, investigation and experts are borne by the insurer, even where nothing is ultimately paid out. In a long-running dispute those costs in particular run higher than many business owners expect.
Why does the policy not cover my own remedial work?
Because that is performance and not loss. Carrying out an assignment again, correcting a report or waiving your invoice is part of delivering what you promised. The insurance only steps in where the mistake causes the client loss that goes beyond the work itself.
Does the policy also cover mistakes by my employees?
Yes, provided they act within the described activities. You are liable for the mistakes of subordinates under Article 6:170 of the Dutch Civil Code and the policy follows that liability. That does not apply automatically to self-employed people hired in; have it recorded whether they count as co-insured or ask them for cover of their own.
Every situation is different. For these situations we have a separate page.
- Compare professional indemnity insurance (BAV)The main page
- Professional indemnity insurance for self-employed professionalsBAV, financial loss, claims made
- Professional indemnity insurance (BAV) for self-employed professionalsProfessional error, financial loss, claims made
- Professional indemnity or public and employers' liability: which do you need?Professional error, pure financial loss, claims made
- Professional indemnity for self-employed professionalsPure financial loss, claims made, run-off
- Professional indemnity insurance (BAV) for an educational consultancyPure financial loss, claims-made, retroactive and run-off cover
- How liability insurance protects you against risksInjury claims, defence, the limits of the policy
Read more
Within Beroepsaansprakelijkheidsverzekering
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Want to know what your risk costs?
Request a quote without obligation. We check the sum insured, retroactive cover and run-off cover with each insurer.
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 (LinkedIn). Last updated on .
The information on this page is general in nature and is not personal advice.