Insurance package for self-employed professionals in construction
As a self-employed professional in construction you are at the same time the contractor, the owner of the equipment and your own labour, and those three roles are covered by three different policies.
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
Public and employers' liability insurance (AVB) is the entry requirement: without a policy schedule you will not get through the gate at most main contractors. But the client's requirement is about a sum insured, not about whether your cover fits your work. If you demolish, break out or drill into existing work, whether care, custody and control is included matters more than the size of the amount on the schedule.
The second block is your equipment. The contents of the van fall outside every motor policy, even comprehensive cover, and the main contractor's annual construction all risks (CAR) cover insures the works in progress, not your personal tools. For tools there is almost always an overnight clause: a locked space, signs of forced entry, or emptying the van.
The third block is you. You have no employer, so the duty of care under Article 7:658 of the Dutch Civil Code does not protect you as it does an employee on the same scaffold. In certain hired-in situations subsection 4 of that article can apply to a self-employed person as well, but you cannot plan on that. You arrange your income in the event of incapacity with disability insurance (AOV), not with a liability policy.
What does the insurance package for self-employed construction professionals 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.
The client's requirement is not your risk analysis
Main contractors ask for liability insurance with a minimum sum insured and rarely look further. Your own risk lies elsewhere: in care, custody and control if you touch existing work, and in the exclusion of putting right your own defective work. Re-erecting a wall that is out of true is at your own expense. The damage to the finishing work destroyed as a result is a different question. Have both sections assessed separately.
Tools fall exactly between the policies
Your van is insured, the works in progress are insured through the main contractor's CAR policy, but your machines and hand tools fall under neither. Separate tools cover is needed for that. Watch the night clause: outside working hours the tools must be in a properly locked space. Theft without signs of forced entry, from an unlocked trailer or from an open building site is almost always declined.
Injury to yourself is the biggest blind spot
If you fall from the scaffold, no liability, tools or CAR policy compensates your loss of income. Personal accident insurance pays a lump sum and is not an income provision. Only disability insurance makes up the shortfall in turnover. When choosing, look at the waiting period, the end age, the occupational class of your work and whether the test is incapacity for your own occupation or for suitable work; that difference decides whether you get a benefit after a knee injury.
Being hired in changes who is held liable
If you work under the direction of a main contractor, that contractor can be held liable by the client for your mistake under Article 6:171 of the Dutch Civil Code and then recover the amount from you. The construction contract often contains an indemnity that reinforces this. So your policy must also cover liability as a subcontractor. For projects you take on yourself, a continuous construction all risks (CAR) insurance is the supplement.
What does your premium depend on?
Your speciality in construction. Roofing, demolition, scaffolding and working at height weigh more heavily than interior finishing or indoor carpentry.
Annual turnover as a self-employed person. Turnover is the calculation basis for the liability premium, even without staff.
Care, custody and control included. Work on existing buildings calls for care, custody and control cover. That raises the premium but closes a large gap.
Value of tools and machinery. The replacement value of what you carry every day determines the sum insured of the tools cover.
Storage outside working hours. A locked shed or garage is viewed more favourably than a van left on the public road.
Structure of your disability cover. Waiting period, end age and the chosen definition of incapacity determine most of this premium.
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.
Three. Public and employers' liability insurance for injury to people and damage to other people's property, tools and plant cover for what you carry in the van, and disability insurance for your income. If you take on works yourself, an annual construction all risks (CAR) policy is added for the works in progress. Legal expenses cover for debt recovery problems and disputes with clients is a frequently chosen fourth part.
Does the main contractor's CAR insurance cover my tools?
No. A CAR policy insures the works in progress and usually also site equipment included in the contract sum. Your personal hand tools and machines fall outside it. Nor are you automatically a co-insured party on that policy as a subcontractor. At the start of a project, ask which sections you are included on, and keep your own tools cover in place regardless.
What if I fall from the scaffold myself?
Then you bear the loss of income yourself, unless you have disability insurance. You are not an employee, so the employer's duty of care under Article 7:658 of the Dutch Civil Code does not automatically work in your favour. Subsection 4 of that article can protect a hired-in self-employed person in certain situations, but that requires proceedings with an uncertain outcome. Your own income provision is the only reliable route.
Do I need liability insurance if I work alone?
Yes. Liability in tort follows from Article 6:162 of the Dutch Civil Code and applies regardless of business size. A single damaged underfloor heating pipe or a ladder falling against a parked car can already run high. Also, virtually all main contractors require a valid policy schedule before you may enter the site. Without that policy you are, kept off the work.
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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