Side activities · local residents · planning use
Klaverblad business legal expenses insurance for diversification on the farm
As soon as something is added on the yard, a shop, a small campsite, letting barn space or care activities, your legal position changes. Your policy has to know about that second activity.
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Deze pagina in het Nederlands: Klaverblad zakelijke rechtsbijstandverzekering bij verbreding op het erf.
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.
In brief
Diversifying on a farm almost always runs up against one question: does the activity fit within the designated use. A farm shop that buys in more than it grows itself, a barn let to a builder, camping on the farm with more pitches than allowed, a care location in a former cowshed. As long as nobody complains nothing happens; as soon as a local resident submits a request for enforcement, the local authority has to take a decision. That starts an administrative law process with six-week deadlines and a real risk of an order subject to a penalty.
We act as intermediary for more than thirty insurers and compare them objectively; Klaverblad is one of them, and the choice follows from what you actually do on the yard. Background on this insurer can be found at Klaverblad, and a sector page at agricultural legal expenses. The point with diversification is that insurers accept on the basis of a described activity: if 'retail' or 'accommodation' is not on your policy, a dispute about it is not covered, even though it is on the same yard.
The second area of tension is the surroundings. More traffic on a narrow road, noise from a terrace, smell from a shed, light from a glasshouse: the neighbour law standard in Article 5:37 of the Dutch Civil Code prohibits nuisance that is unlawful within the meaning of Article 6:162 of the Dutch Civil Code. For planting there is also Article 5:42 of the Dutch Civil Code on the distance of trees and shrubs from the boundary. These cases have a small financial interest but great practical weight, and they only fall under the cover if the home or property module is included.
This page deals with one situation. The full overview is on Compare personal legal expenses insurance (rechtsbijstandverzekering).
What to look out for
Four points that make the difference on a yard with several activities.
Every activity separately on the policy
Insurers assess on the basis of the business description given. If you start a shop, letting, catering or care activity, report that before it opens. An unreported activity affects Article 7:928 of the Dutch Civil Code, and in a dispute the insurer can rely on Article 7:930 of the Dutch Civil Code. This also applies to an activity in your partner's name or in a separate company.
Visitors on the yard are a different risk
Guests, customers and participants walk between machinery and animals. If someone is injured, that is liability, not legal expenses: with a defective building or fence Article 6:174 of the Dutch Civil Code applies, and with animals Article 6:179 of the Dutch Civil Code. Make sure your public and employers' liability insurance knows about the public function; legal expenses cover does not replace it.
Volunteers, interns and participants
Care and education locations often work with people without a contract of employment. Under subsection 4, your duty of care in Article 7:658 of the Dutch Civil Code extends to people who carry out work for you outside an employment relationship as well. Employment law discussions about that, such as about payment or termination, fall under the employment module. That is not always standard on a basic agricultural policy.
What falls outside the cover
Usually excluded are tax disputes, disputes between partners in a partnership and with them most succession issues, and cases about expropriation, planning compensation and area development. Subsidy and financing disputes often fall outside it too. If you expect to deal with one of these subjects, do not count on the policy but on an adviser of your own.
What does your premium depend on?
- Number and nature of the activities on the yard: every side activity is assessed separately
- Public access: an open yard with visitors changes the risk profile
- Split of turnover: the balance between the farming side and the side activity
- Workforce: permanent staff, seasonal workers, interns and volunteers
- Modules chosen: administrative law, property, employment, contracts, debt collection
- Position in relation to housing: determines the chance of complaints and enforcement requests
Insurers weigh these details differently. That is where your saving is.
What is covered
| Situation | Basic | Extended |
|---|---|---|
| The local authority announces an order subject to a penalty because your small campsite has more pitches than allowed | No | Provided that |
| The landlord gives notice on the plot where your camping pitches are | Provided that | Yes |
| The supplier of your shed fittings delivers months late and you want to cancel the order | Yes | Yes |
| A seasonal worker from Poland claims unpaid wages after the work has ended | No | Yes |
| A group that hired your barn for a party does not pay the invoice | Provided that | Yes |
| Criminal prosecution after a visitor is seriously injured on the yard | No | Provided that |
Every branch of the business on the yard has to be on the policy separately. An activity that is not on it falls outside every module.
Frequently asked questions
This is what people ask us most.
A neighbour has submitted a request for enforcement. What can I do?
The local authority has to take a decision on it and, as an interested party, you can submit your views and object later. That process only falls under the cover if administrative law is included. Respond immediately, because the deadlines are six weeks and cannot be extended. At the same time, gather factual material about how long the activity has run and on what scale, because the authority tests against what actually happens.
I let a barn to a business. Is that covered?
Only if letting is on the policy as an activity. The tenancy regime depends on the use: for storage and business space the lighter rules of Article 7:230a of the Dutch Civil Code apply, while for space with a public function the protection of Article 7:290 DCC onwards may apply. Record the lease in writing and agree explicitly who bears the maintenance and the insurance of the building.
Does the policy help with complaints about smell or noise?
A civil nuisance case under Article 5:37 of the Dutch Civil Code falls under the home or property module, if that is included. If the complaint runs through the local authority, it is administrative law and you need that module. In both cases it weighs heavily whether you stay within your permit; operating outside the permit makes the case almost hopeless legally, however reasonable your operation may otherwise be.
When do I have to report a dispute?
As soon as you reasonably know that a conflict is running; Article 7:941 of the Dutch Civil Code requires it. In reality that is the first letter of complaint, the first letter from the local authority or the first message from a lawyer. Do not make any promises to the complaining party and do not change how you operate under pressure before the lawyer has looked at it, because a change is later read as an admission.
Read more
Within Rechtsbijstandverzekering
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