Legal expenses insurance (rechtsbijstandverzekering) for estate agents and valuers
At an estate agency and valuation practice the line between legal expenses and professional indemnity runs straight through a file: the commission is legal expenses, the valuation is liability.
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
Two kinds of conflict, two insurance policies. A client who withdraws the instruction or sells behind your back leads to a discussion about commission and withdrawal costs. That is a contractual dispute and therefore legal expenses. A buyer or lender claiming that your valuation was too high holds you liable for the consequences. That is a claim under Article 6:162 of the Dutch Civil Code and belongs with your professional indemnity insurance (BAV).
Both can occur in the same file. So report a case like that to both insurers and let them agree between themselves who conducts the defence. If you do not, you risk reporting too late; Article 7:941 DCC requires you to report as soon as reasonably possible.
The sector also has its own complaints schemes and disciplinary boards. Proceedings there are not a civil dispute, and business legal expenses policies usually exclude that type of proceeding. Ask about it explicitly when taking out the policy. See also the business legal expenses insurance.
What does legal expenses insurance for estate agents and valuers cover?
The structure of the cover in three parts, with an overview per situation below.
You choose yourself
Modules
The sections that suit your business.
Debt collection
Contracts and suppliers
Employment law and staff
Administrative law and permits
Lawyers
What you get
Legal assistance and legal costs, not compensation for loss.
Your own lawyer on your case
Legal costs included
Advice when a dispute is looming
Know in advance
Limits
Where the cover stops.
A three-month waiting period
Minimum financial interest per case
Maximum external costs
What is covered
Situation
Covered
Collection of an unpaid invoice
Sometimes
A dispute with a supplier over delivery
Yes
A dismissal case or employment dispute
Sometimes
An objection to a permit decision
Sometimes
A dispute that was already running when you took out cover
No
Tax proceedings without that module
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.
Commission is legal expenses, valuation is liability
If the dispute is about whether you are entitled to your commission, that is a contractual discussion falling under the contracts or debt collection module. If it is about whether your valuation or advice was sound and whether someone suffered loss as a result, that is professional indemnity. Legal expenses cover pays no compensation. In that case the liability insurer conducts the defence and pays any compensation.
Without a written instruction, debt collection becomes difficult
The service agreement determines when commission is due and what applies on withdrawal or a sale behind your back. Without that record, the dispute turns into a question of evidence. That directly affects your cover, because the insurer assesses in advance whether the case has a reasonable prospect of success and refuses to handle it if it does not. Record the instruction in writing and confirm changes by email.
The sector's disciplinary boards often fall outside the cover
A complaint through your trade body's complaints scheme or to a disciplinary board for valuers is not proceedings against an opponent about money, but a test of how you practise your profession. Most business legal expenses policies do not cover that. For a practice that carries out valuations it is, however, the procedure that affects the register and therefore the flow of instructions. Ask in advance whether an additional section is possible.
Letting agency and management make the policy different
If you do letting or management alongside sales agency, a whole series of disputes is added: rent arrears, defects in the let property, service charge accounts and discussions with owners about your management fee. That calls for the property and debt collection modules. Declare these activities when applying; a policy arranged only for sales agency does not cover those files.
The three-month waiting period
A dispute that was already running or was foreseeable when you took out the policy is excluded, even after the waiting period and even if you switch to another insurer. So take out the policy while things are calm. This is very much an insurance you have before you need it.
What does your premium depend on?
The firm's annual turnover. The basis of calculation for the rate.
Number of staff and affiliated valuers. More case handlers means more files and more employment cases.
Valuation practice or not. Valuing brings a different and heavier claims profile.
Letting agency and management. These activities call for the property and debt collection modules.
Maximum external costs. Decisive in long-running proceedings with an external lawyer.
Minimum financial interest per case. The threshold amount below which a commission dispute is left aside.
Insurers weigh these details differently. That is where your saving is.
How we arrange it
You request a quoteWe take stock of your situation, your risk and your 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.
That is a contractual dispute about commission and falls under the contracts or debt collection module. What is decisive is what the service agreement says about withdrawal and about a sale behind the agent's back. Without that record it becomes a question of evidence and the insurer can refuse the case because there is no reasonable prospect of success.
A buyer disputes my valuation. Which insurance?
Professional indemnity insurance. Anyone claiming that your valuation was unsound and that they suffered loss as a result relies on Article 6:162 of the Dutch Civil Code. Legal expenses cover pays for assistance and legal costs but never compensation. If the same file also involves a discussion about your invoice, report it to both insurers, so that neither report is made too late.
Are disciplinary proceedings covered?
Usually not. A complaint to a disciplinary board for valuers or through your trade body's complaints scheme is not a dispute with an opponent about money, and business legal expenses policies generally exclude those proceedings. For a valuation practice it is, however, the procedure that affects registration. Ask whether an additional section is available.
What does a reasonable prospect of success mean?
Before the insurer takes a case on, it assesses whether it is legally viable. If evidence is missing, for instance because the instruction was not recorded in writing, it can refuse to handle it. Most policies also have a disputes procedure allowing you to have that opinion tested by an independent expert.
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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