With own-account transport, things rarely go wrong on the motorway. They go wrong on the job: crane out, tail lift down, and someone else's property on the load bed.
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A premium indication, not personal advice. Prefer to talk it through? Call 072 - 509 24 56.
In brief
Many trucks do not drive for third parties but for the owner's own business: a rigid lorry with a lorry-mounted crane at a construction firm, a tipper at a landscaping business, a box van at an installer or shopfitter. That is called own goods in transit, and it changes the liability picture entirely. The carriage conditions with their limits per kilogram do not apply here; damage you cause to someone else is settled under Article 6:162 of the Dutch Civil Code and runs through your public and employers' liability insurance.
The structure is often half the value with this type of vehicle. A lorry-mounted crane, tipping gear, tail lift, hook lift system or refrigerated body is not included in the chassis list price and must be declared separately, including the swap bodies and containers that go with it. Without that declaration you are insuring an empty chassis.
The third point is the work itself. As soon as the vehicle is stationary and the crane or the lift is in operation, it is no longer a road user but a piece of equipment. That is where the discussion about which policy carries the loss begins, and that is where your staff are most likely to be injured. See also the lorry insurance for carriage for hire and reward if you do start driving for third parties.
The structure of the cover in three parts, with an overview per situation below.
The basics
Vehicle
A tractor unit, semi-trailer or box-body lorry, with third-party liability and own-damage cover if you choose.
Third-party liability compulsory by law
Own-damage cover with an excess
Declare the body separately
Not included
Load
The goods you carry, with their own limits.
CMR: 8.33 SDR per kg
AVC: € 3.40 per kg
Goods in transit for the actual value
Outside the policy
Drivers
Injury to your own staff in traffic.
Falls outside the AVB
WEGAS insurance
Also when you are at fault
What is covered
Situation
Vehicle policy
Goods in transit
WEGAS
A collision with the tractor unit
Yes
No
No
Theft of the semi-trailer from the site
Sometimes
No
No
Load damaged or stolen
No
Yes
No
Injury to your driver on the road
No
No
Yes
Refrigeration unit or tail lift
Sometimes
No
No
Driving while disqualified
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.
A crane that lifts is not taking part in traffic
If a pack of roof tiles falls from the lorry-mounted crane onto the neighbour's conservatory, at that moment the vehicle is a lifting appliance and not a motor vehicle. The WAM cover is written for taking part in traffic, and business liability insurance has an exclusion for motor vehicles. That is exactly where the gap arises in which two insurers point at each other. Have it recorded in writing which policy carries the function as a working machine and make sure the lifting equipment has demonstrably been inspected.
Your customer's goods in your care: the care, custody and control clause
If you move a machine, a kitchen or household contents belonging to a client, you have that property in your care. Damage to it is excluded on a standard liability policy; care, custody and control cover with its own limit is needed for that. Because you are not a professional carrier, you also cannot rely on the per-kilogram limit in the carriage conditions: you are liable for the actual loss.
Tools in the box are not part of the vehicle
Generators, core drills, a welding set, measuring equipment and hand tools do not fall under the truck's own-damage cover, even if they are bolted into the load box. If the load compartment is broken into, you bear the loss yourself unless separate tools cover is in place. Insurers set requirements for the overnight parking location and for emptying the vehicle; leaving it overnight at a building site is often excluded.
In loading and unloading, your duty of care as an employer applies
Most injuries in own-account transport arise not while driving but around it: a shifting load, a lift that drops, slipping while stepping down. There, Article 7:658 of the Dutch Civil Code applies, with a heavy duty of care and a reversed burden of proof. Mistakes your driver makes towards third parties end up with you through Article 6:170 of the Dutch Civil Code. For injury in traffic itself there is also a WEGAS insurance needed.
Work out the per-kilogram limit for your load
With light, valuable loads the statutory limit comes nowhere near the actual loss. A consignment of five hundred kilograms with an invoice value of fifty thousand euros yields roughly five thousand internationally. The client insures that difference with a goods-in-transit insurance, or you offer it as a service.
Injury to an employee who takes part in traffic for work falls outside the motor policy and outside the AVB, which excludes motor vehicles. The Supreme Court has held that an employer must, as a matter of good employment practice, arrange proper insurance for these employees.
Type of body and equipment. A lorry-mounted crane with a load chart, tipper, hook lift, tail lift or refrigeration unit; each has its own claims pattern.
Value of the chassis and body together. The body is declared separately and, with this type of vehicle, accounts for a large part of the own-damage premium.
Nature of the business activity. Construction, groundwork, installation or shopfitting determines how often work is done at third-party premises and above existing buildings.
Where it is kept outside working hours. Your own locked site, the public road or a changing building site, and whether the vehicle is left empty.
Care, custody and control and tools cover. The limits chosen for third-party property in your care and for equipment in the load compartment.
Type of own-damage cover and excess. Third-party liability only or own-damage cover as well, with an excess that is often set higher for work traffic.
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.
Is damage caused with the lorry-mounted crane covered by my truck insurance?
Not as a matter of course. As long as the vehicle is taking part in traffic, the motor cover applies, but during lifting work the vehicle is stationary and functioning as a piece of equipment. Many liability policies specifically exclude motor vehicles. So have it recorded in advance which policy carries the equipment function, otherwise a claim results in two insurers referring you to each other.
Are my tools in the load bed covered?
No. The own-damage cover relates to the vehicle and the fixed body, not to what you carry. Separate cover is needed for machinery, generators and hand tools, with requirements as to security and where the vehicle stands overnight. Have it recorded whether staying overnight at a building site is permitted; that is regularly excluded.
Do I need carrier's liability if I only carry my own goods?
With pure own-account transport, no: CMR and the AVC conditions apply to carriage for third parties for payment. Your risk therefore shifts to liability for customers' property in your care and to damage you cause while working. That calls for care, custody and control cover, not a carrier's policy.
Is my employee insured if they are injured while unloading?
Not on the truck policy. Injury to your own staff runs through employer's liability under Article 7:658 of the Dutch Civil Code, and that belongs on public and employers' liability insurance (AVB) with the employer's liability section. If the injury happens in traffic, that policy excludes motor vehicles and a WEGAS insurance is needed to close the gap.
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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