Employment law · debt collection · personnel file
Klaverblad legal expenses insurance for SMEs
In an SME with staff, most of the legal costs go on employment cases. That is where the assessment of a business legal expenses policy starts.
- Several insurers compared objectively
- 9.5 customer rating for a new policy
- AFM licence 12016589
- Personal 072 - 509 24 56, weekdays 9–17
Deze pagina in het Nederlands: Klaverblad rechtsbijstandverzekering voor het mkb.
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
As soon as you have staff, the character of your legal risk changes. Termination through the sub-district court requires, under Article 7:669 of the Dutch Civil Code, reasonable grounds and a complete file. Without that file the proceedings become more expensive than the case itself. On top of that you run into the transition payment in Article 7:673 of the Dutch Civil Code, into discussions about non-competition clauses and into continued pay during illness. An employment law module that only gives advice and does not litigate is of little help in those situations.
We set the offering of several insurers objectively side by side. Klaverblad is one of the insurers we can place business with; which provider suits you depends on your workforce, your turnover and your sector. Background on this insurer can be found at Klaverblad. The wider product explanation is at legal expenses cover for SMEs.
The second focal point is debt collection. Many SMEs take out this policy mainly to have unpaid invoices collected. In that case watch three things: whether only the undisputed claim is handled, whether proceedings continue if the customer disputes it, and whether your debtor's bankruptcy stops the file. A debt collection module does not pay out money. If the customer cannot be found or turns out to have nothing, the help stops. Credit insurance exists for the risk of non-payment, not a legal expenses policy.
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 SME owners run into most often with this policy.
The details you give about your business have to be right
Premium and acceptance depend on turnover, wage bill and the number of staff. If you grow from five to fifteen people without reporting it, that affects the duty of disclosure in Article 7:928 of the Dutch Civil Code and the insurer can rely on Article 7:930 of the Dutch Civil Codewhen you claim. Also report if you start working with agency staff or on-call workers. That changes the employment law risk.
The waiting period catches exactly the case you can see coming
An employee with whom things have been difficult for months is not a new dispute. The waiting period and the exclusion of existing or foreseeable disputes are no formality here: insurers ask when the conflict started, not when you reported it. So take out a policy before the tension builds, not afterwards.
What is not included
Excluded as standard are tax disputes with the Belastingdienst (the Dutch tax authority), shareholder and partner conflicts, and directors' and officers' liability where the board falls short. Disputes about acquisition, sale or restructuring of the business usually fall outside it as well. For the third point you look at a directors' and officers' liability insurance.
The defence against a claim runs through a different policy
If your business is held liable for injury or damaged property, your liability insurer conducts the defence and pays the costs. That does not belong on the legal expenses policy. So make sure the public and employers' liability insurance is in order; legal expenses cover supplements it and does not replace it.
What does your premium depend on?
- Number of employees and payroll: the main yardstick for employment law risk
- Annual turnover: often determines which premium band you fall into
- Sector and activities: trade, services and manufacturing have different kinds of dispute
- Modules chosen: employment, debt collection, hire of business space, traffic
- Number of collection cases per year: some policies set a limit here
- Waiting period and own contribution: both bring the premium down but increase what you carry yourself
Insurers weigh these details differently. That is where your saving is.
What is covered
| Situation | Basic | Extended |
|---|---|---|
| Termination of a contract of employment at the sub-district court after a breakdown in the relationship | No | Yes |
| A former employee sets up round the corner and you want to enforce the non-competition clause | No | Provided that |
| A supplier delivers a machine that does not do what was agreed and refuses to put it right | Yes | Yes |
| Your debtor goes bankrupt while the collection case is still running | No | No |
| The local authority refuses the environmental permit for your new business premises | Provided that | Yes |
| Your landlord raises the rent on the business premises and you want to object | Provided that | Yes |
Which modules are on your policy determines the outcome. The premium in itself says nothing about that.
Frequently asked questions
This is what people ask us most.
Does the insurer also litigate in a dismissal case?
If the employment law module is included and the dispute arose after the waiting period, yes. The lawyer first assesses the file and the chances of success. If no file has been built up or an improvement plan is missing, the effort will often be aimed at a settlement agreement rather than at proceedings. That is not a refusal, but a judgement of what the sub-district court would do.
What if my customer disputes the invoice?
Then it is no longer a collection case but a contract dispute. Some policies still handle that under the contracts module, others stop once it is disputed. This distinction is set out word for word in the conditions and matters more in a comparison than the premium. Ask as well whether the statutory commercial interest under Article 6:119a of the Dutch Civil Code and your out-of-court costs are claimed too.
Are fines from a regulator covered?
The fine itself never. An administrative fine is a penalty and not a loss, and is excluded on every policy. The legal assistance with an objection to that fine can be covered, provided administrative law is included. With a fine after an accident at work your duty of care under Article 7:658 of the Dutch Civil Code also comes into play, which can lead to a civil claim from the employee.
I rent my business premises. Is a tenancy dispute covered?
Only with the tenancy or property module. That covers matters such as defects in the premises, a rent increase or the end of the tenancy. Which regime applies depends on the type of space: shop and catering space is covered by the protective provisions of Article 7:290 of the Dutch Civil Code onwards, office and business space by the lighter rules of Article 7:230a DCC.
Read more
Within Rechtsbijstandverzekering
- Rechtsbijstandverzekeringthe main page
- Avero achmea zakelijk bedrijfsrechtsbijstandverzekering
- Klaverblad zakelijk rechtsbijstandverzekering
- Avero achmea zakelijk rechtsbijstandverzekering
- Rechtsbijstand zzp
- Nationale nederlanden zakelijk rechtsbijstandverzekering bedrijven
- Klaverblad rechtsbijstandverzekering
Similar pages
- Legal expenses insurance for businesses through Nationale-Nederlanden
- Business legal expenses insurance for agricultural businesses through Avéro Achmea
- Legal expenses insurance (rechtsbijstandverzekering) for shops
- Business legal expenses insurance and how a case is handled
- Klaverblad business legal expenses insurance for diversification on the farm
- Legal expenses insurance (rechtsbijstandverzekering) for SMEs
- Legal expenses for self-employed professionals
- Legal expenses insurance (rechtsbijstandverzekering) for a construction company